THE CHRISTIAN AFRIKANERS - The Works of F. N. Lee

Yet quite apart from this high view of Special Office, an even higher view is held concerning theGeneral Office of all Believers -- the Prophethood of all Believers; the Priesthood of all Believers;and the Kingship of all Believers. For the Preacher is regarded as nothing more than a specialisedform of the Prophethood of all Believers; the Elder is regarded as nothing more than a specialisedform of the Kingship of all Believers; and the Deacon is regarded as nothing more than aspecialised form of the Priesthood of all Believers. Because all Believers have been engrafted byholy baptism -- into the Office of all Believers so as to partake of the benefits of Christ's functionslifelong!All Preachers are exactly the same as to their influence. There are no Senior Colleagues. There isno such thing, in the South African Reformed Church, as: "the" Minister; or an Associate Minister;or an Assistant Minister. This very idea would be repudiated out of hand - as a hangover either ofthe collegiate system of the academy, or otherwise as a remnant of Romanism and its hierarchy.The youngest Minister in the Church is exactly the equal of the very oldest Minister in the Church.For they are Co-Ministers! They would say that the very idea of Associate and Assistant Ministersis hierarchical -- foreign to the teaching of the Word of God!Presbytery, in the South African Reformed Church, meets but once a year. Each Congregation mustsubmit a statistical report to Presbytery of its growth; its missionary and evangelistic work; thecases of discipline it has had; the number of baptisms performed; its educational work; and itsactual state of affairs. Presbytery delegates people to go to the Provincial Synod alias the StateAssembly, and the latter again to the National Synod or General Assembly. These courts are neverreferred to as "Higher Courts" and the "Highest Court" -- but only as "Fuller Courts" and the"Fullest Court."In South African Calvinism, the General Assembly is not regarded as the "Highest Court" nor asmore important than the Consistory at the congregational level. It is merely a fuller Court, dealingwith matters of national importance rather than just matters of local importance. All these variousCourts are regarded as co-important.These South African denominations belong to the Reformed Ecumenical Synod. Indeed, theypredominate there. Yet they are extremely perturbed by the continuing deterioration of the DutchChurches in Holland. I think that if the Dutch Churches do not deal with the heresies of Wiersingaand of Baarda and Kuitert very soon --you are going to see that body split right down the middle.The diaconal work of the Reformed Churches is vast. Previously, they ran Christian schools andhospitals. Today, they still run homes for unwedded mothers; rehabilitation centres for "PoorWhites"; homes for orphans; old age homes; youth hostels; rehabilitation centres for alcoholics anddrug addicts; street-preaching stations; schools for the deaf and the blind; and cripple-care centresfor people who are physically disabled and children who are spastic. All of this is done in the Nameof Jesus, and for Christ's sake -- Matthew twenty-five. These are not State enterprises. These areChurch enterprises -- funded by the Church; done in the Name of Christ, as a legitimate work of theChurch as an institute (in addition to her preaching).The Church is also much involved in organising Conventions about social evils, Protestant Action,fighting communism, and promoting National Education. Indeed, the Church often makespronouncements even against the State Government's policies.Not too long ago, the South African State, wanting to raise more money for defence againstthreatening enemies, got itself involved in a Defence Bond Obligation Scheme. In terms of this,people were asked to invest in buying arms -- and were guaranteed a minimum of 7% interest in