The CRCNA is navigating a pastoral shortage, smaller candidate pools, and congregations that have been through enough upheaval that calling a new pastor straight away isn't always the right first move. This episode introduces the STM — the Specialized Transitional Minister — through two men who have made it their life's work: Roger Sparks and Harv Roosma. They want you to know something upfront: having an STM doesn't mean your church is a problem church.

Roger came to the work through a painful door. After 34 years in Medicine Hat, Rock Valley, and Laverne, he'd watched churches go through messy separations as a synodical deputy — and gone through one himself. Harv arrived differently: a teacher turned pastor who spent 20 years on Vancouver Island before sensing that the churches he served had deeper needs he wasn't equipped to meet. Pastor-Church Relations pointed him toward STM in 2018. He's been doing it ever since.

The structure is practical — a year-long commitment, first six months learning the church, second six months preparing the way for the next pastor. A priority list of 14-15 items gets narrowed to three or four. The training through the Interim Ministry Network is serious: church DNA, change dynamics, appreciative inquiry, moving a congregation from scarcity thinking to abundance thinking. But the phrase that captures the spirit of the whole thing is Harv's: we go in pre-fired. Your time is limited anyway. There's no fear. The job is to uncover what needs to be uncovered and love people well on the way out.

**Timestamps:**

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This is part two of our team update — and we're getting into some specifics. The big topic: the COD's recommendation for biennial synods, which will come before Synod 2026. Willy serves on the Council of Delegates and voted against the recommendation, and he explains why.

The proposal came from a task force looking to cut costs. Their solution? Hold synod every other year instead of annually. But as Willy lays out, this isn't just a budget issue — it's an ecclesiology issue. Synod has its authority because synod is the church. It's not something we get to skip when money's tight. And here's the kicker: under this plan, COD would meet six times in two years while synod meets only once. That should concern all of us.

Coming out of the battles over human sexuality, departures, and division, this is the wrong time to pull back from gathering. We need more connection, not less. And as Willy points out, it's ironic that the denomination just ran a whole initiative called Gather — and now wants to gather less as a synodical body.

On the encouraging side, Lora Copley has been hired as interim editor of the Banner — and that gives us real hope. Herb Scheur's recent article was exactly the kind of accessible, Reformed content the Banner should be putting out. If you stopped reading the Banner, now's the time to come back. And if God's tapping you on the shoulder to write, submit something.

We close with a call to serve — on COD, committees, boards, wherever God is leading. The priesthood of all believers isn't just a doctrine we confess; it's how renewal actually happens.

Timestamps:

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Check out the Abide Project: https://www.abideproject.org

Intro music by Matt Krotzer

It's January, which means it's time for our annual team conversation — just Jason, Willy, and Dan talking about where we are, where the CRC is, and where we think things need to go.                                                                                     

Timestamps:                                                                                                                           

Join and support us on Substack: https://themessyreformation.com/                                                                     

Intro music by Matt Krotzer

Join and Support us on Substack: https://themessyreformation.com/ 

Check out the Abide Project:  https://www.abideproject.org

We love the Christian Reformed Church; we want to see reformation in our denomination; and we recognize that reformation is typically messy. So, we’re having conversations with pastors throughout the CRC about what reformation might look like.

Intro Music by Matt Krotzer 

Join and Support us on Substack: https://themessyreformation.com/ 

Check out the Abide Project:  https://www.abideproject.org

We love the Christian Reformed Church; we want to see reformation in our denomination; and we recognize that reformation is typically messy. So, we’re having conversations with pastors throughout the CRC about what reformation might look like.

Intro Music by Matt Krotzer 

Join and Support us on Substack: https://themessyreformation.com/ 

Check out the Abide Project:  https://www.abideproject.org

We love the Christian Reformed Church; we want to see reformation in our denomination; and we recognize that reformation is typically messy. So, we’re having conversations with pastors throughout the CRC about what reformation might look like.

Intro Music by Matt Krotzer 

Join and Support us on Substack: https://themessyreformation.com/ 

Check out the Abide Project:  https://www.abideproject.org

We love the Christian Reformed Church; we want to see reformation in our denomination; and we recognize that reformation is typically messy. So, we’re having conversations with pastors throughout the CRC about what reformation might look like.

Intro Music by Matt Krotzer 

Join and Support us on Substack: https://themessyreformation.com/ 

Check out the Abide Project:  https://www.abideproject.org

We love the Christian Reformed Church; we want to see reformation in our denomination; and we recognize that reformation is typically messy. So, we’re having conversations with pastors throughout the CRC about what reformation might look like.

Intro Music by Matt Krotzer 

Join and Support us on Substack: https://themessyreformation.com/ 

Check out the Abide Project:  https://www.abideproject.org

We love the Christian Reformed Church; we want to see reformation in our denomination; and we recognize that reformation is typically messy. So, we’re having conversations with pastors throughout the CRC about what reformation might look like.

Intro Music by Matt Krotzer 

Join and Support us on Substack: https://themessyreformation.com/ 

Check out the Abide Project:  https://www.abideproject.org

We love the Christian Reformed Church; we want to see reformation in our denomination; and we recognize that reformation is typically messy. So, we’re having conversations with pastors throughout the CRC about what reformation might look like.

Intro Music by Matt Krotzer