Archives for July 2013

Elder Easton and Karen Howes, with Two Dedicated Young Men, Chinidu and Addy

Evangelical Reformed Church, Hackney

Over the weekend I did a conference on “True Living” for the Evangelical Reformed Church, in Hackney, London. I gave four messages to 200 people (nearly all blacks, most of whom hail from the Caribbean) on “True Living”—personally (in the believer’s relationship with God), domestically (in marriage and child rearing), perseveringly (enduring to the end in a life of conversion), and eternally (in heaven, as a world of love). After the Sunday evening service, I did a Q and A session with the young people. Their questions are outstanding—very spiritual and yet practical in nature. No one seemed to mind the excessive heat in the church through the weekend too much. God was graciously in the midst of us.

This is my fifth time serving this warm, spiritually thriving church. God has blessed my past visits here more tangibly than any other church I am aware of. I love ministering to these dear people. The church is teeming with new, young converts—especially young men, several of whom are now wrestling with a call to the ministry. At least one dear brother who would love to study at PRTS hopes to visit our seminary soon. Reformed, experiential Christianity is alive and well in this blessed church.

Q & A Session

It was great to have the Cazander family from British Columbia worship with us as well in God’s kind providence. It is a bittersweet time for them, as their daughter, Trichelle (about whom I wrote a few days ago), is awaiting surgery on Friday. It was a blessing to be able to pray and visit with them.

On Monday morning I was driven to the London City Airport by a Muslim taxi driver. (It seems that nearly all taxi drivers in London are Muslim.) He tried to minimize the differences between Christianity and Islam. “The only difference is that we don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God,” he said, “and that’s all!” When I remarked that that was a rather major difference, he neither affirmed nor denied it. He told me that 98% of the community where my hotel was is Muslim. Because the population there is so dominated by Islam, it is the only community in London where the Muslims are allowed to sound their minarets five times a day for prayer. Every Friday at 1:00 p.m., this community in London virtually shuts down as all the Muslims are required to be in their mosques to worship at that time. “We really should go to the mosque every day,” he said, “but most of us go only once a week on Fridays because that is the only time attendance is mandatory.” Presently, the Muslims are in a month of fasting. From 3:15 a.m. to 9:15 p.m., no Muslim is to have any food or drink—not even a sip of water for thirty days! “Only nine more days,” my driver said, “and then I can start eating again!”

I landed safely in Amsterdam where I have an important meeting to attend on behalf of the seminary tomorrow. Tomorrow (Tuesday) Mary and Lydia hope to rejoin me in Amsterdam (they are having a wonderful time in Greece), and on Wednesday we hope to fly home together. Home, sweet home!

Sandstone Castle at Bad Bentheim

Dr. Jason Van Vliet and I cohosted a tour group of forty people through the Netherlands and Germany. Here is the second part of my summary of our trip.

Tuesday morning, July 16, we headed for Emden, Germany. Emden was the major city in this area in the sixteenth century. At that time it included 15,000 refugees in addition to its growing population. The first Dutch translation of the Heidelberg Catechism was printed in Emden already in 1563—the year it was first printed in German. The first official synod of the Reformed churches took place at Emden in 1571. This synod laid the foundation for the Great Synod of Dordt in 1618–1619, which, in addition to composing the famous Canons of Dordt, also determined that the Heidelberg Catechism should be preached each week in Reformed churches.

Rare Books at the John a Lasco Library

Our main stop in Emden was the John à Lasco library, which dates back to 1559, when it had more than a thousand volumes—about two hundred more than the historic University of Leiden! Though the library is in a smaller building today since the older building was largely destroyed in World War II, the library is still stunningly beautiful. It houses a good collection of Reformation materials, and an old collection of Latin books as well as a collection of primary and secondary sources related to German Pietism. Through the graces of the curator, five of us were allowed to see these last two collections, both of which contained thousands of antiquarian volumes. For me, it was like being a boy in a candy shop, who didn’t have enough time to look at all the candy.

The John à Lasco library does considerable work with other libraries around the world. It is open to scholars who want to do research there. I chatted for a while with Stephen Southerly, the only scholar studying there at present. Hailing from Iowa, he is working on a PhD that delves into how Calvin balanced individual and social responsibility in the Christian faith. Who would have thought that I would meet this brother from Iowa at the à Lasco library in Germany! Providence is amazing.

Beautiful old portraits hang throughout the library. Most importantly, there is the portrait of à Lasco, a Polish Reformer, who finally embraced the Protestant cause in 1543. Afterward, he became very influential in Reformed church polity, particularly in establishing the office of deacon. He died in Poland, trying to build up the Reformation cause there. The library is named after him to honor his work in Eastern Europe, not because it houses many of his books. À Lasco did managed to purchase the library of Erasmus of Rotterdam before he died, and some of Erasmus’s own works which à Lasco acquired are still in the library today

Other portraits of well-known and lesser known Reformers hang throughout the library as well. One that fascinated me was an oil painting of Abraham Schultet, one of the divines that Heidelberg sent to the Synod of Dort with the instructions to try to bring the Remonstrants (the Arminians) and the Contra-Remonstrants (the Reformed) together, if possible. However, the delegates were also instructed that if that were not possible, they should support the Contra-Remonstrants, which they subsequently did. While Synod was in session, Abraham Schultet preached a stirring, solidly Reformed sermon on the assurance of faith. Then, too, there was an impressive painting of Menso Alting, the minister who first brought the Reformation to Emden.

From Emden we traveled in a southerly direction paralleling the Dutch-German border to the town of Bad Bentheim. (“Bad” means bath for its mineral spas.) We visited Bad Bentheim’s stately and beautiful sandstone castle, whose history dates back to the eleventh century, and still has the feel of a medieval fortification. Since 1421 the castle has been home to the Counts and Princes of Bentheim and Steinfurt whose family descends from a branch of the Counts in Holland.

Our Daughter Lydia in front of the Rijksmuseum Paleis Het Loo

Presently Dr. Jason Van Vliet and I are cohosting a tour group of forty people through the Netherlands and Germany. Here is a brief summary of the first half of our trip.

Pulpit of the Grote Kerk of Dordrecht

Our flights to Amsterdam on Thursday evening, July 11, went well. My traveling companion was a retired Emergency Room Physician who had worked at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo for twenty-five years. He was an excellent conversationalist; I ended up speaking with him for three hours. He is a staunch Episcopalian who has been seriously involved with mountain climbing for thirty years. At age 69 he was on his way to Switzerland to take on some of the most challenging mountains in the Alps. When he told me that he agreed with almost everything Obama said and did—just after he had read the Wall Street Journal—and then asked me what I thought about him, we ended up talking about abortion and Obamacare but then got into theology. We didn’t agree on much, but he asked me at the end of the conversation if he could purchase the best book I had ever written. “I’m a voracious reader,” he said, ” so I would like to read your very best book.”

Sixteen of our tour group were on the overnight overseas flight together. We connected with fourteen more tour group members, plus our Witte tour guide, Peter Roolvink, in the Amsterdam airport, and were on our way by 9:15 on Friday morning. Our first stop was Zaanse Schans, a museum village comprised of restored buildings that have been brought from various parts of the Zaan Rover region. We especially enjoyed going inside a few historic windmills; most fascinating was watching how peanut oil was made with the aid of a windmill. We also witnessed the making of Dutch wooden shoes by a variety of machines operated by just one workman.

Village of Volendam

From there we went to the quaint and beautiful fishing village, Volendam, where we had lunch and spent a few hours enjoying its beauty. Once an important port on the old Zuiderzee, this little city is now known for its picturesque streets, quaint shops, and the traditional costumes worn by some of the townspeople. By the end of the day we checked in at Hotel Dordrecht, where we met seven more tour members, including my cohost, Dr. Jason VanVliet, professor at the Canadian Reformed Theological School in Hamilton, Ontario. After a delicious dinner, we all introduced ourselves to each other, and Dr. van Vliet address us with some gripping remarks about Lord’s Day 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism.

On Saturday morning, we took a guided walking tour in Dordrecht, splitting into two groups of twenty people each. Our guide, Tom, described himself as an agnostic humanist, who believes in man rather than God. Though that proved to be disappointing, he was very knowledgable about the attractive, historic city of Dordrecht, which was already an important city by 1220 A.D. By 1299, Dordrecht had become a major city, strategic in terms of its surrounding rivers and transportation which was central to trade and commence thought the Netherlands. Everything that came by boat through Dordrecht’s surrounding rivers had to be checked and taxed. In 1431, a major flood destroyed much of Dordrecht, which had now become an island. By the 1550s most citizens in Dordrecht had embraced the Reformed faith, and in 1572 Roman Catholics were officially forbidden from worshiping openly in the city.

Grote Kerk of Dordrecht

We saw the Groothoofdspoort, the main gate of the once-fortified city of Dordrecht, as well as some of the elegant streets and houses of the old town, and of course,the immense Grote Kerk. We heard about the church’s history, including the famous National Synod of Dordrecht which met in 1618 to 1619, and the pivotal role it played in the development of Reformed doctrine. At this famous synod the Heidelberg Catechism was officially adopted as a doctrinal standard of the Reformed Church.

Leaving Dordrecht, we traveled north and east to the Rijksmuseum Paleis Het Loo. A royal residence for nearly three hundred years, Het Loo was given to the nation by Queen Juliana in 1969. It is especially well known for its beautifully maintained gardens. Of particular interest was the “House of Religion and Orange” exhibit, which is part of a series of exhibitions offered in commemoration of the Heidelberg Catechism’s 450th anniversary. What I found most fascinating there was an old volume of the Heidelberg Catechism set to music.

Dutch Organist, Harm Hoeve

We then continued on to the Grote Kerk in Hasselt, where we were treated to a concert with the renowned Dutch organist, Harm Hoeve. We also got to hear the church’s carillon, and climbed the 200+ steps to the top of the tower.

Sunday morning we returned to the Grote Kerk in Hasselt for a Dutch church service led by the church’s new minister, Rev. Westenbout. He preached on 1 Corinthians 13:1–3, stressing that no matter what we speak, think, or do, if we don’t have love, it all amounts to nothing. That afternoon, I preached in the Christelijke Gerformed Kerk in Genemuiden (where Rev. Arnold Huisjgen serves as pastor) to 250 people on “The Only Way to Live and Die” from Philippians 1:21. Rev. Bartel Elshout served as my able and faithful translator. We were grateful that Mary’s cousin Janie and her daughter Linda drove two hours to attend church with us in Genemuiden, and afterwards spent several hours in fellowship with us.

Monday dawned clear and cool. We drove through Rouveen and Staphorst, beautiful, tidy, farm villages, in which some residents still wear the traditional costumes. The homes have the living quarters in the front, parents first, then married children, then an attached barn for the animals. The villages shut down on the Lord’s Day; the residents are only allowed to ride their bikes to church. Our driver told us to look for a heart plaque on the front door, indicating the parents are making it known they have a daughter eligible for marriage, and that a suitor could drop off a letter expressing his interest, and even have the freedom to come in and meet the girl. Our driver also pointed out that today the heart plaques are basically used as keyhole covers by some.

Site of the First Protestant Church in the Province of Groningen

Vesting Bourtange, a beautiful sixteenth-century Dutch fortress, was our next stop. The fortress was built on one of the only roads near the German border, in the middle of a swamp. It won every one of its two battles! The fortress is also home to the first Protestant church in Groningen, which William of Orange ordered to be built. Onsite also was a pro-Protestant, anti-Catholic exhibition on the Heidelberg Catechism.

We then headed for Groningen, the capital of the Netherlands’s northernmost province, also called Groningen. Mary and Lydia went shopping for a few hours, while I happily caught up on this letter and did some editing on a book on the Holy Spirit.

Heidelberg Castle

On Thursday, I will be traveling to the Netherlands and Germany as Dr. Jason VanVliet and I are leading a tour there, in conjunction with Witte Travel, of about 40 people in commemoration of the 450th anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism. My wife Mary and daughter Lydia will be joining the tour on Saturday. At the end of the tour, there will be a conference in Heidelberg on the catechism. The first Sunday, July 14, I will be preaching in Genemuiden, the Netherlands, with Rev. Elshout translating the sermon into Dutch, and the second Sunday, July 21, I will be preaching on Lord’s Day 1 and Dr. VanVliet on Lord’s Day 52 in the actual Heidelberg Castle where Frederick first read the catechism aloud to many Reformed ministers and theologians from around Europe and it was unanimously accepted.

On July 22, I will be flying from Germany to Cardiff, Wales, to do a conference there (July 23–26), followed by a conference in London, England (July 27–28), after which I will be flying back to the Netherlands to spend a few days of meetings there. Meanwhile, Mary and Lydia will be visiting various sites in Europe and will rejoin me in the Netherlands. We hope to fly home together on July 31. Your prayers are coveted.