Church Membership

Rev. J.A.Scarrow, Trowel and Sword Dec. 1955

Preamble: Reverend J. A. Scarrow resigned from the Presbyterian Church because of a difference with the Auckland Presbytery over the family of a church elder winning an art union lottery prize. It was believed Mr. Scarrow advocated the disciplining of the elder by the Paris Session. The Presbytery, while taking a strong ethical stand on gambling, felt an individual’s actions should be governed by his conscience. A small group of people followed Rev. Scarrow out of the Presbyterian church and they started the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Bucklands Beach, which continued to faithfully meet together to learn from God’s word and serve the people of East Auckland, in New Zealand. Rev Scarrow was a regular contributor to early editions of Trowel & Sword.

Today we have an article which raises fascinating questions with even more fascinating answers or solutions. However, with the distance of 70 years do the answers smack of legalism or are we discomforted by our laxness? Do some of the solutions lack the imagination of a spirit filled vision for the church? The sense of church and kingdom comes through clearly. Does the church have a clear Kingdom vision today? Once again, read,  reflect and please respond. (Pieter)

Church Membership

“If every church member was just like me, what kind of a church would my church be?”

Would it be worldly or spiritual?

Let us look at the requirements of church membership so that we may hold ourselves up to certain principles of doctrine and practice.

On the one hand, the session is responsible for receiving members from the world or from amongst our youth who are asking a welcome to the Lord’s Table. So eager is the church to gain members that she is tempted to be silent when a plain word would,  in the long run,  be most  beneficial to her members who are her very life through God’s Spirit in their hearts.

Should the session ask people pointedly if they intend to  practise consistently church attendance,  or do they think they can come only when it suits their convenience? Strength and weakness show up very clearly just at this point. The stronger manage often at considerable cost, to be present with their families every Sunday, at least once, and in many cases twice. The weaker have good intentions, may be, but the most trifling excuse hinders regular attendance.

Worldly visitors arrive or are expected for dinner; or perhaps one does not feel very well, and it would be an effort to get ready and attend. All should be reminded of God’s Word through Isaiah 58 :13,14 “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

When so many in this land use the Lord’s Day to do their own work and pleasure, how delightful it is to know families who plan on Saturdays to finish all work that might be a temptation on Sunday. The mowing of lawns can be done before Sunday of left until Monday. So can the cleaning of shoes and many small duties that crowd in on a Sunday morning when there is so much to attend to especially for busy mothers bringing their children of (sic) church. That mad rush at the last minute which spoils the peaceful atmosphere of Divine Worship and the disturbance of coming in late could quite easily be avoided by rising from bed a few minutes earlier and preparing to be ready in good time. How inspired and inspiring the minister would be in the atmosphere of a quietly waiting prayerful congregation ready for God’s Word.

Does the session ever ask the prospective member if he really intends to practise Christian stewardship, or does he intend to rob God? Prov. 3: 9 “Honour the Lord with thy substance and with the first fruits of all thine increase” and Mal. 3 “Bring all the tithes”. “Ye have robbed me in tithes and offerings.” In the New Testament times many gave to God in response to His grace, all they possessed “Neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own”. All possessions were held in trust for the Lord. When our Lord says, “Go ye to all the world with the Gospel,” some say “No, I’ll stay at home and send someone else to be my proxy, and I’ll give £.1.-.- a year for his support.” If such a one went himself, he would sell all that he has to go, but when another goes, he is content to live in luxury while he gives a trifle if it doesn’t touch his pocket.  “Bring ye all the tithes.” Stop robbing God. Only then can there be blessing upon the church.

When a man becomes a member of the church, do the session talk plainly with him, telling him that he will  be a strength only if he conscientiously and sacrificially faces the issue between the  interests of the Kingdom of Christ and his own private plans and ambitions, so as to really put first the Kingdom? Is he willing, even at financial loss, to keep himself and family where he can attend and support the church? Should not the session tighten up the loose nuts of church life with a little discipline and speak first to members who are indifferent to many things that hinder the Kingdom?  Until there is discipline in such matters, no expansion or any real fruit will be enjoyed by the church. Chinese mothers have been heard to threaten naughty children by saying that if they don’t obey, they will cut off their ears; but the children know that no child’s ears ever have been cut off, so they continue in their naughtiness unperturbed.

When a man runs off with another man’s wife the session does something about it, but in ordinary and very common cases of flagrantly broken vows and professions, nothing is ever done about it and everyone knows that nothing will ever be done about it.

Rev. J.A. Scarrow

 

Reformed Preaching In A Scientific Age

Rev. A. Barkley BA. Trowel & Sword, April/May 1955 (Part 1)

Preamble: April 25 (Anzac Day), 1955 saw the official opening of the Reformed Theological College in Melbourne where both newly installed lecturers, Rev. J.A. Schep and Rev. A Barkley gave their inaugural addresses. Prof. Barkley’s subject was, “Reformed Preaching in a Scientific Age,” which was printed in T&S over two editions. Few people at that time could have imagined the speed of advancement or the extent of scientific discoveries in the years that were to follow. However the role of the preacher remains unchanged so Prof. Barkley’s words of wisdom are just as relevant today as they were back then, even though science in the twenty-first century has to some extent become indistinguishable from what we might call pseudoscience. We strongly recommend you read through the whole article. His concluding remarks, including a quote from General Omar N. Bradley of the United States Army, contain some powerful messages which we would do well to heed.

Reformed Preaching In A Scientific Age

It has been claimed by men of science that we have entered upon a new era in the history of the human race – the Atomic Age, they call it. The discovery of the atomic bomb has in some measure thrown the word in confusion and fear seems to overshadow the nations. A new world of power has been exposed to exploitation by the genius of man. The study of science has captivated the imagination of students throughout the civilised world and terminology, once confined to the precincts of the laboratory, is now on the lips of the children. In the press we are daily confronted with the expressions “atomic energy”, “nuclear physics” and “radio activity” etc.

The greatest and most important single factor in the creation of the civilisation of the present hour has been the development and application of what is commonly called “the scientific method”. This method consists of four steps in the process of establishing a theory. 1. There is observation to discover the facts. 2. Generalisation, ie. an effort to combine in one statement characteristics common to the objects under observation. 3. Formulating an hypothesis, which is an attempt to find a principle underlying them all. 4. Testing this hypothesis by seeing how it works in some unexplored direction. As a scientist writing in “The Christian Graduate” states, “Not only does modern science start with facts; it repeatedly turns to them to test its hypothesis. It reasons upwards from its primary facts inductively, and then downwards to a set of consequences deductively”.

That some wonderful results have been achieved by this method, no one would dare to contradict. In the realm of medicine alone we have an abundance of evidence of the benefits brought to sufferers through the discoveries of the past twenty years. Dread diseases can no longer claim their victims unchallenged, and research work still goes on in the war against bacteria. The effect of the results of this scientific method upon the minds of men and women has been both subtle and extensive. A.S. Nash in his book “The University and the Modern World” draws attention to the exalted place held by science when he writes “In the whole domain of knowledge the predominant mode of thinking has been so deliberately modelled on the natural sciences that it is not an exaggeration to say that the scientist in the modern world receives a veneration, which for human credulity can only be compared with the superstitious regard which the medieval peasant paid to his priest”.

In the realm of education the god of science holds the place of pre-eminence, and the influence of the scientific method extends throughout the plans for training the rising generation. Some thoughtful people are becoming concerned as they see the possibilities. When they read about the devastating powers of a hydrogen bomb and listen to the words of warning from the lips of prominent scientists, they begin to wonder if science has not produced a monster that threatens to destroy us. Even Albert Einstein trembled as he thought of the possibilities of the destructive power of atomic energy and he was forced to the conclusion that science was no guide. He writes, “Objective knowledge provides us with powerful instruments for the achievement of certain ends, but the ultimate goal itself and the longing to reach it must come from another source”.

The question which we must now consider is, Has the Reformed preacher a message for such an age as this? Can he take his place as one of the marching army prepared to accept the challenge of the so called scientific method, or is he to take his place in a funeral procession in the midst of which there is a coffin with the remains of Calvin and loud cries of mourning, lamentation and woe? I am persuaded that he should be in the forefront of the battle for he has a message for this age that is vital. A message that no other preacher has got, however popular and cultured he may be.

Reformed Preaching In A Scientific Age

Rev. A. Barkley BA. Trowel & Sword, June/July 1955 (Part 2)

The Reformed preacher must declare in face of all the claims made by modern science that there is the Revelation of a Sovereign God, particularly in His Word. If the scientist says, “How do you know there is a God,” wen can answer by asking, “How do you know there is not?” There is no time to waste on an idle discussion about the existence of God. The Reformed Teacher must have his convictions and like the prophets of old be prepared to speak with the authority of, “Thus saith the Lord.” His authority, therefore, cannot be found in human powers or in the advance of science. In an article which appeared in the Free University Quarterly some years ago, Prof. Waterink ably defends the necessity for true scholarship to begin with Divine Revelation. He states, “The Christian life-view faces the questions of life in a different way. It sees the problems, recognises them, has a deep respect for them. It has respect for any and all efforts which are made to solve these problems. But it has itself received, not found, not won by conquest, but “obtained” as grace the solution of many of the questions by reason of the fact that it sees the truth not only as a problem in time, but also as the revelation from Eternity. It sees Eternity behind time and out of this Eternity God has spoken and allows His light to shine, even over the mysteries and riddles of life.”

In the name of scholarship the Bible has been attacked and much attention has been diverted to the defence of the Authority and inspiration of Scripture against these attacks. The Reformed preacher must not concede anything to the critics otherwise he will lose the power of the Spirit. There is no need to fear the consequences as far as any attack upon the Word of God is concerned. The Bible has withstood the efforts of man to destroy it for centuries and yet today it is printed in more languages than ever.

The Reformers took their stand on the authority of the Scriptures and that is why attention is drawn to the inspiration of the Scriptures at the beginning of the confessional statements. The great preachers in Reformed circles confronted their hearers with the fact of God and His revelation. Calvin was the Biblical theologian of his age. To quote Dr. Loraine Boettner, “Where the Bible led there he went; where it failed him, there he stopped short. This refusal to go beyond what is written, coupled with a ready acceptance of what the Bible did teach, gave an air of finality and positiveness to his declarations which made them offensive to his critics”. It is not always possible for the preacher to be an authority on one branch of science nor is it necessary, but he should speak with far greater authority because he takes his stand upon what Gladstone described as “the impregnable rock of Holy Scripture”. To strike such a note of certainty in an age of fear and distress is the prerogative of every ordained minister who is espoused to the Reformed faith.

The Reformed preacher has an important task in this age of science because he has a creed. The scientist presents his conclusions as they have been derived from his research. There are certain things he has come to accept and he is guided in his thinking by what have come to be regarded as facts. His work is systematic otherwise he has no hope of arriving at worthwhile results. Those responsible for the drawing up of the Reformed confessions were scientists of the first order. They were theologians and theology is the science of the Sciences. Calvin wrote his institutes not merely for the sake of producing a theological treatise, but rather to provide a means whereby the truth God had revealed might be presented in systematic fashion. The confessions such as the Belgic Confession and the Westminster Confession of Faith present a systematic summary of the main doctrines of the Scriptures. The preacher who knows his confession has a guide that will enable him to present the teaching of the Bible in logical fashion.

The plea that there should be no creed but the Bible has been in some measure responsible for the increasing number of sects that have arisen in the past fifty years. It is a dangerous assertion, for while we in Reformed circles acknowledge the infallible authority of Scripture, we want to know what is taught in the Bible. When we quote from the Catechism or Confession we are presenting what we accept as a true statement of Scriptural teaching. What valid objection can be raised against a clear presentation of the vital doctrines of the Christian faith as taught in the Word of God? How can we persuade men, if there is confusion in the effort to set forth what God has revealed in His Word? No one would dare substitute a confessional statement for the Bible, but it serves a useful purpose in enabling members of the church to speak with one voice as to the teaching of the Bible.

Someone might raise a further objection and say that instead of preaching a creed we should preach Christ. The claim is made by some modern evangelists that they preach Christ and not a creed. But what does it mean to “preach Christ?” To find an answer it is helpful to turn to the preaching in the days of the apostles. They did not preach a theory of their own, neither did they concentrate on an argument with paganism. They did not indulge in the utterance of pleasing platitudes on brotherhood. The keynote of their preaching was, “that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you.” Centuries later Luther made a similar declaration when he said, “To preach always Him, the true God and man. This may seem a limited and monotonous subject, likely to be soon exhausted, but we are never at the end of it.”

The Apostles spoke about the Divine plan of Redemption formulated in Eternity. They declared that there was a purpose in the coming of Christ into the world; they had a great deal to say about sin and the atonement for sin; they laid stress upon the fact that Christ died for others and rose again from the dead. In Apostolic days they preached predestination, election, total depravity, regeneration, repentance, justification, adoption, sanctification, judgement, heaven and hell. All this was involved in preaching Christ. All these doctrines are set forth in the Reformed confessions. To preach Christ you must preach a creed otherwise you cannot expect intelligent belief. When Jesus spoke to Martha before the resurrection of Lazarus, He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in Me though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” Then follows the question, “Believeth thou this?” Christ revealed himself to Martha and there was demanded of her acceptance of what constituted a creed.

It is remarkable that so many Arminian and Modernist preachers denounce the necessity of a creed in days such as these. The Marxist disciple has got his creed. He turns to the writings of Marx and Lenin and quotes the statements of his masters and is prepared to sacrifice on their behalf. Each false religious system has got its creed and the devotees have been prepared to defend it with the sword. Yet so-called evangelists and teachers say “no creed” and even despise those who dare to adhere to such.

If there is no creed one must ask, is there theology? Any such theology must in large measure be a theology of experience. In his introduction to Dr. Warfield’s monumental work entitled, “The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible” Dr. Cornelius van Til states, “It is only the followers of Calvin who have a theology that fully fits in with the idea of Scripture. Only a God who controls whatsoever comes to pass can offer to man His interpretation of the course of history in the form of an existential system. An evangelical, that is a virtually Arminian theology makes concessions to the principle that controls a “theology of experience”….. Such evangelicals have done and are doing excellent detail work in the defence of Scripture but they lack the theology that can give coherence to their effort.” Preaching that merely plays on the emotions is not sufficient for this age or any other.

General Omar N. Bradley of the United States Army uttered these solemn words a few years ago: “With the monstrous weapons man already has, humanity is in danger of being trapped in this world by its moral adolescents. Our knowledge of science has clearly outstripped our capacity to control it. We have too many men of science, too few men of God. Wo have grasped the mystery of the atom, and rejected the sermon on the mount. Man is stumbling blindly through a spiritual darkness while toying with the precarious secrets of life and death. Our world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we do about peace, more about killing that we do about living. This is our twentieth century’s claim to distinction and to progress.”

Never was there an age that presented such a challenge to those of Reformed persuasion. To every branch of the Reformed churches in the world surely comes the call, “Proclaim the glorious truth that there is a sovereign God who has revealed Himself. Carry out the command of Christ when He said, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Teach the doctrines of the Word of God, teach the Law of God. It will not make you popular, for many do not want to trouble about doctrines and the Law of God is despised. But surely the true and earnest preacher is not out to seek popularity. He must labour as one who will be answerable to God. Blessed is the one, who at the end of the journey can say with Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course. I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.”

Rev. Alexander Barkley

The Last Word

Rev Geoff van Schie. Trowel and Sword editor. December 2010

Preamble: It can be no easy thing as the editor of a magazine that has been the lifeblood of the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia and New Zealand for the past 56 years, to write its obituary. This task fell to Geoff van Schie and the words that poured out of him were filled with the emotions of the occasion. No doubt a large factor in the decision to cease production was economic, at a time when all and sundry were predicting the demise of magazines and newspapers with the coming of the digital age. Ironically, the demand for magazines in general is as strong now as it has ever been. Towards the end of his article Geoff asks the question whether we have gone in the wrong direction in stopping production. It took only three years from the beginning of the Reformed Churches in Australia to the beginning of T&S. With Geoff we pray that after thirteen years a new editor and team may be found to lead T&S to a new chapter in its history under the grace of God. It may require a leap of faith, but surely that is the business that we are in! (Bert & Pieter)

Editor’s Notes – (The Last Word)

How does one start? That has been a question facing me for a while. This is especially so when these notes will not only be my last as editor of T&S but also the last after 56 years of the printed version of the magazine itself. What does one say in such a piece in such a time?

As I look back over almost nine years of being editor if T&S, I realise that the Lord has grown me in the process and in this way T&S has been a blessing to me despite the drain on time and energy it has represented as to its relentless call for attention. As I mentioned in an email to a colleague this morning, I see that the Lord has used T&S in particular to develop within me the fruits of the Spirit.

How so you may ask? As other editors of denominational magazines would know, to be the director of such a publication means that much pressure is placed upon you to print only what one particular segment of the denomination believes to be ‘right’ for the ‘flagship’ of the CRCA. I give thanks to the Lord that in managing such pressure from all sides of the CRCA, and even from some outside the denomination, He has driven me to consciously endeavour to maintain those fruits; “… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. (Galatians 5:22-23).

It is my belief being the editor has taught me to be more patient and gentle with others than ever before. It certainly has powerfully developed within me the fruit of self control! Many rewrites of Ed’s notes and even total discarding of some and beginning all over again, are testimony to that particular fruit. Editors are human and if we are not careful we can sinfully return in harsher measure what we have received, in the process abusing our position as editor. Yet our task is as servants of Christ to be like Him in such a significant role.

My role over the past years has also taught me what striving for peace is all about. Over the time I have been editor there have been quite a number of controversial issues at work within the CRCA, some threatening to rip the church apart, with some ministers and church councils speaking of entertaining the thought of leaving the CRCA. At this very time, this is again the case. Over the years I have sought to objectively allow the differing sides to share their concerns, always applying the policy that what was said had to address the issue and not the ‘man’. There have been times when I have not allowed items to be published because of what I perceived to be their inflammatory and unedifying tone or potential to be divisive.

In spite of the challenges that by grace God uses to grow an editor, I cannot but acknowledge the joy and love that I have experienced in the task. It has been an honour and privilege to work with a wonderful team of very positive and committed people without T&S would not be what it is today. The current team members have written their own personal farewell (see pages 34-35). Those who have served with me over the years worked hard seeking the best for the CRCA and T&S. It has been a blessing to personally have had such a committed group around me – truly a gift of God. I thank them for their service in love for their Lord and the CRCA.

With love and joy this team has endeavoured to bring to the CRCA the best magazine we could produce, visually and as to its content. The team has endeavoured to fulfil the original vision of the founders of T&S, that T&S should be a ‘popular’ magazine with something in it for all the family. Indeed we have worked hard to steer away from T&S being again perceived as a publication written by ministers for ministers. We pray that we have achieved this if even in some small measure; we seek our reader’s (sic) forgiveness where we have failed.

In an email just received from one of the staff of Matthias Media (publishers of ‘The Briefing’), we are encouraged that some believe our efforts have hit the mark. That email in part reads as follows:

I just wanted to say that I am sorry to hear this (discontinuation of printed version of T&S), although I suppose I understand better than most the economic realities print publications are facing. T&S has been one of the publications that sits on our lunchroom table, and is often browsed and read by Matthias Media staff. Its look and feel has certainly become first rate, and the content was always biblical and edifying.

Warm regards Ian Carmichael, Matthias Media.”

As I sign off I must confess that I am afraid that we will discover we have moved in the wrong direction in ceasing a printed version of T&S – a matter of not knowing what we have till it is gone. The prayer of the outgoing team is that T&S will live on and remain a blessing to the CRCA and its wider readership. We pray the synodical interim committee will soon find a new editor and team to lead T&S to a new chapter in its history under the grace of God.

Thank you to all those who have T&S alive through their subscriptions, especially those few churches that bulk ordered for every family and single unit. Those churches were indeed the backbone of T&S’ (sic) financial sustainability. May the Lord bless and keep you all as we again take time to be in wonder of God’s grace as this Christmas we remember the arrival of Immanuel – God with us!

T&S also would never be what it is without the many volunteers who over the years have done an outstanding service to the CRCA in the provision of a wide variety of items. These volunteers have come from every state, and some also from New Zealand. Lately we also have had many items sent and published from those submitting items from outside the CRCA in Australia and also overseas, all given as a gift for no payment. Those contributing to the content have come from a wide variety of walks of life using their God given gifts to seek to be a blessing to our readers. From the WA team we extend our heartfelt thanks to them all.

Rev Geoff van Schie. Trowel and Sword editor. December 2010

Building a New Nation

Preamble: Welcome readers to our first offering from the wonderful trove of Trowel and Sword articles. This week we present the very first Editorial from the first issue back in October 1954. It is worth reading for a number of reasons. There is a reminder of the sense of calling that many early Dutch immigrants had when they arrived in the new lands. It was a sense of calling and urgency that would be well for us to heed some seventy years later in lands that our forebears would hardly recognise. It was a sense of calling to our region which was both farsighted and refreshing. The thought that struck us most clearly is that we are  called to be God’s people wherever we are, and not representatives of a western way of life or thinking. It is a calling to be counter cultural.

Please feel free to reflect and comment in the discussion part of the of the website. Our prayer is that we will be challenged and encouraged by the voices of the past, and our discussions together.

“Building a New Nation” by Rev. John VanderBom.

A very vast project is always present in the mind of every true believer. It is the kingdom of God, that is to come. According to our Heidelberg Catechism, that kingdom which we pray for will come to perfection on the Day of Glory.  But today, and among us, that same Kingdom has to be realised, and manifest by the submission of the believers to their Lord. Therefore we pray: so rule us by Thy Word and Spirit, that we may submit ourselves more and more to Thee… In that way a new nation is built.

In the submission and obedience of Christians in olden times, local churches were visible as parts of christ’s new creation. Their Lord Who bought them with His own blood was glorified by them. His work became visible in them. But in that same vast project, we, too are also engaged. We ministers of the Word of God, and all true believers, are very closely concerned in it. It is our responsibility that the church again in our days, may be preserved and increased. We, in our small local churches all pray for, and work in, this vast project, that Jesus Christ Himself may be visible as Head in His new creation.

With these thoughts in mind, I presume to write an article for the first copy of “Trowel and Sword,” our Reformed Monthly. In great thankfulness, but with much hesitation is our beginning, a beginning in the Name of Lord. He who also created this part of the world that His praise should be heard, and His sovereignty recognised.

There is something startling and oppressive in the thought of how this so long forgotten part of God’s world is now developing, with rapid strides, to be a stronghold of Western character and culture in the Southern hemisphere, as close as it is to the Asiatic nations breaking adrift.

Immigration was one of the measures devised to strengthen Western influence. The slogan heard so often and in so many countries after the last war (WW2) was given a special accent here: a new nation has to be built!!

Indeed, that is what we need. And less than that will not suffice. We want new nations, communities of new men. We want a new generation of men of God, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. But how is that ideal to be realised? Only by adopting a very high standard.

The solution of a new nation does not lie in the assimilation of the Australian way of life, but in accepting the very high standards of God’s Holy Word for every sphere of life. Renewal of the world and of nations, can only issue from renewed attention to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. But therefore more than ever, a real, and attentive church is required. A church that maintains the golden standards in the midst of national life. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word!”

We are told, very often, that the Church is at one of its lowest ebbs. Despite many Christian individuals living an exemplary life; despite the great self denial of active missionaries in far countries; despite impressive international congresses wrestling and praying for more visible unity of churches, the real unity of that body and its head is questioned, by innumerable young people in the so called Christian countries today. How many are longing for a Church that reveals herself to be a real mother, a true bride of her Lord.

In these days we feel that church has to put first things first. Woe is unto us, if we preach not the gospel; and if we preach it not pure. That is the strenuous task laid upon our weak shoulders. Not without great cause did we choose as our title for this Monthly: “Trowel and Sword.” Just as in Nehemiah’s days we are convinced that a new nation must be built in Jerusalem. And like him, we know that God’s city must be secured by walls (while we won’t forget the gates!!) Like him, too, we fear less, danger from fighting, than from compromise with the double-hearted. We are convinced that the church can only be a blessing to this world, if she herself is aware of her high responsibility in preaching the pure Word of God, and maintaining the Divine authority of that Word.

It is our fervent desire, that the Lord may use this monthly to bring together all those in the Australasian world who are concerned in the building up of a new nation upon the foundation we have indicated. “Reformed” in the 20th century, still means the same as in the 16th century; back to the Bible, back to God. It has always been one of the marks of  genuine Calvinism, that godliness was believed to have the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. We are thankful that many believe it still today, and we feel hopeful that in many parts of the new world as of the old, a revival of the Reformed faith is visible.

The idea of coming before the public with a monthly like this did not rise in our minds in the first place. In the early days of the post-war migration the Rev. Arthur Allen (who himself is a correspondent of the “Calvin Forum”) suggested the publication of a paper for contacting all those Reformed people of Dutch origin who received hospitality in the Free Church. So “Fidelity” started, but soon had to lose its battle theough shortage of paper in Sydney!  Since then many Reformed congregations are publishing their own letters or circulars. The “Australian Free Presbyterian” has for long existed as a denominational paper. The monthly that is now on your table, was initiated in New Zealand and intends to be a mouthpiece for all of the Reformed persuasion in our countries. 

Let me add a personal note. I always feel highly indebted to the several Reformed brethren who fought here their strenuous, lonely battle for years before we came. The fact of their being here was an incentive to me to join the army of migrants coming to this far land.

The character of this monthly will be to give something for everybody. It was again the Rev. A. Allen who pioneered a Reformed theological journal, but it, alas, has, in other hands, since lost its Reformed character. But for today we do not intend a theological magazine but a popular paper for the Reformed family, talking in a kind-hearted tone about things in every sphere of life, home, science, labour unions and housework, church and schools and missions, politics and television and, indeed, everything without exception, which comes under the aspect of our Christian responsibility and the authority of God’s Word. 

We do hope and pray that “Trowel and Sword” in just this practical way, may serve as a savouring salt in society. 

For the benefit of the many Dutch readers, some part will, for a time, be written in Dutch, and other articles be summarised in Dutch. 

Lastly, do not forget, readers, we are all builders, and the wall is rising, and underneath it is the true foundation. We too, even as we build, must take to ourselves the whole armour of God – the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, must be ours in every day of toil.

J. VANDERBOM

A Short History

The first edition of Trowel and Sword was published by and for the Reformed Churches of Australia and New Zealand in October 1954, with the final printed edition being distributed in December 2010.

The denomination itself had only been established three years earlier and consisted mainly of Dutch immigrants who had been part of the post-war exodus from Europe looking for a new life and a new beginning. They came with a pioneering spirit, full of hope and fervour, beginning their new lives in a strange environment and often in what would today be considered substandard housing.

Their lives revolved around work and their churches; often tiny congregations spread across the length and breadth of Australia and New Zealand.

What they achieved in those early years was truly remarkable and included permanent places of worship, Sunday schools, Youth Groups including Cadets and Calvinettes, Holiday Clubs, Beach Missions and other outreach activities which often led to the planting of new churches, the establishment of the Reformed Theological College for the training of ministers as well as being instrumental in the starting of many Christian schools.

They dreamed dreams, worked hard and prayed ceaselessly, and God blessed their efforts.

A detailed account of the development of the Reformed Churches is contained in “A CHURCH EN ROUTE” – 40 Years Of Reformed Churches Of Australia.

The Present

Today we must ask ourselves whether much of that effort and momentum has slowed to a walk, or even a crawl. We seem to be just as busy but our efforts are focussed in a different direction. Instead of forging ahead in working for the kingdom of God, we have become sidetracked and even bogged down by the issues thrown at us by an increasingly secular and antagonistic world such as divorce, promiscuity, abortion, homosexuality, same sex marriage, cancel culture and gender fluidity. To the world, the Christian teachings as espoused in the Bible are now considered to be “controversial”.

So instead of lighting fires for Christ we have become preoccupied with fighting the fires lit by Satan and his followers.

Like the church in Ephesus, have we lost the love we had at first? The solution for the Ephesians was to: “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first.” (ESV. Rev. 2:5)

Moving Forward By Looking Back

The pioneers who began the journey have all moved on to glory. They are gone… but not forgotten. Their thoughts, their writings and their dreams remain although perhaps relegated to a different time. I often hear it said that the world has changed. “Things are different now”. “We live in a different time”.

So did Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel and David. So also did the judges and the prophets. And so also did Jesus Himself.

Yet we still look to them and learn from them. So also we can look to the early leaders of the Reformed Churches in Australia and New Zealand. We can still learn from them and follow their examples.

This then is our purpose. To resurrect the writings of the greats of the CRCA. See what they had to say and adjust our thinking and our actions to carry forward their dreams and aspirations for this, our adopted nation. We will do this by publishing a weekly blog using articles taken from the pages of Trowel and Sword – the CRCA newsletter which may be gone but not forgotten.

We invite you to join us on this journey of moving forward by looking back. Look for the masthead: Trowel and Sword Revisited.