David Murray (PhD, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) is the senior pastor of First Byron Christian Reformed Church in Byron Center, Michigan. He is also a counselor, a regular speaker at conferences, and the author of Reset and Exploring the Bible. David has taught Old Testament, counseling, and pastoral theology at various seminaries.
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The Abide Project Lecture Series continues. We are excited to welcome Dr. Neil Shenvi

Thank you for hosting me!  My name is Neil Shenvi.  Whether you’re a Christian seeking  a better understanding of the evidence for Christianity, an agnostic  who isn’t sure what he believes, or a committed atheist, I hope you’ll  find this site helpful.
https://shenviapologetics.com/
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        Last year, I set out to explain why I believe that the denominational office’s interpretation of confessional-difficulty gravamina is not only incorrect, but also immoral and likely to prove damaging to the CRC’s confessional integrity. Some of the arguments that I used in those articles were included in an overture that my council sent to Classis Grandville. In January, Classis Grandville adopted my council’s overture and has sent it on to Synod 2023. 

       Interestingly, on the same day that Classis Grandville met to discuss my council’s overture, the denominational offices decided  to publish what would eventually become the first of two articles by Prof. Kathy Smith (Professor of Church Order at Calvin Theological Seminary) on the topic of confessional-difficulty gravamina. In her first article, entitled, “Gravamen: What It Is and How to Use It,” Prof. Smith reaffirms her commitment to the denominational office’s interpretation of confessional-difficulty gravamina and attempts to justify that interpretation by appealing to CRC church history. Highlighting the importance of these historical claims to her argument, the denominational offices published a second article by Prof. Smith a few days later, entitled, “Summary of the History behind the Guidelines for Gravamina.” 

https://www.abideproject.org/a-more-accurate-history

The Abide Project Lecture Series continues. We are excited to welcome Calvin Seminary Professor Matthew J Tuininga. 

Matt began teaching at Calvin Theological Seminary in 2016. He previously taught at Emory University and Oglethorpe University, in Atlanta, Georgia, and at Sewanee, University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee. His research focuses on religion, society and politics in American history. He is currently writing a book for Oxford University Press entitled The Wars of the Lord: The Puritan Conquest of America’s First People, a historical narrative of missions and war in 17th Century New England. His first book, Calvin’s Political Theology and the Public Engagement of the Church: Christ’s Two Kingdoms, was published with Cambridge University Press in 2017. He is the editor of On Charity and Justice, a volume of Abraham Kuyper’s collected works in public theology, published by Lexham Press in 2022. He has also written a number of journal articles and book chapters on Christianity and slavery before the Civil War and on the history of Reformed political thought. Matt teaches courses in ethics, history, and political thought. He formerly worked as a legislative correspondent for a Member of Congress and as a counter-terrorism intelligence analyst for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Matt and his wife Elizabeth have three children.

Jim Weidenaar joined the Harvest USA staff in June of 2012 as Director for the Greater Pittsburgh Region (GPR). In April 2021, he also became the Director of Church Equipping at Harvest USA. Jim has a burden to help those struggling with sexual sin, that they will come to understand and experience progress in gospel repentance.

Jim has a Masters Degree in Theological Studies (MTS) from Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, MI, and a Doctorate in Historical and Theological Studies (PhD) from Westminster Theological Seminary, Glenside, PA. He resides in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh with his wife and daughter.

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The Abide Project hosts Becket Cook, host of The Becket Cook Show. Thanks, Becket for sharing the gospel! 

Visit https://www.becketcook.com/

Dr. Leeman is the Editorial Director of 9Marks. He has authored several books on the church, including the nature and application of faithful church discipline as loving and necessary for yielding life, health, holiness, and growth in the local church. We will be discussing this in the context of the HSR and beyond. Join us! www.abideproject.org

Jose Rayas (Westminster Seminary California – MDiv) serves a bi-vocational Pastor at Valley Ridge Community Church in Socorro, Texas.  He also serves as Stated Clerk of Classis Arizona and has been delegated to Synod multiple times, serving as an officer of Synod on more than one occasion.  Pastor Rayas is actively involved in the Consejo Latino: a network of Hispanic pastors, leaders, and congregations within the CRC started officially in 2015 seeking to strength congregations and leaders.  The Consejo is also active with churches in Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba, as well as in Canada and the U.S., helping those looking for broader affiliation come into the CRC.  The Consejo Latino has formulated a position statement that has been adopted by Classes California South as a communication to Synod 2022.  This statement declares the support of the Latino pastors and congregations for the Human Sexuality Report.  We will be discussing this with Rev. Rayas as well as his work as a member of the Human Sexuality study committee as well as the Consejo statement and the affect of this wrestling on the Hispanic churches within the CRC