c. 1997 Religion News Service

UNDATED _ The Reformed Church in America (RCA) will reopen the sexual misconduct investigation of one of its most prominent ministers, a church governing board has decided.

The Muskegon Classis, one of eight bodies of local churches that comprise the Regional Synod of the Great Lakes, voted May 27 in a closed-door session to accept a synod mandate to investigate the Rev. Richard Rhem on charges he committed sexual misconduct with an organist at his Spring Lake, Mich., church.

The investigation, which will be conducted much like a courtroom trial, will last at least six months, said the Rev. Howard Moths, stated clerk for the Great Lakes synod.

If found guilty, Rhem could be disciplined with an admonition, a rebuke, removal from office, or excommunication from the denomination.

Rhem has been embroiled in theological controversy since 1995, when the classis attacked Rhem after he allowed a predominantly homosexual congregation to meet in his Christ Community Church. The classis later formally rebuked Rhem for heresy after he professed that salvation is achievable apart from Jesus.

Following these theological battles, Rhem began the process of”peaceful separation”from the denomination in late 1995.

But when the allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced in October 1996, the denomination suspended the separation procedure, pending an investigation of the charges.

The classis committee that conducted the initial investigation found insufficient evidence to substantiate the charges.

However, according to Moths, the committee acted incorrectly in making its ruling because the denomination’s Book of Church Order requires the entire classis to investigate matters of misconduct.

This oversight led the regional synod to vote on May 5 to send the matter back to the Muskegon classis for reinvestigation.

Rhem and his 2,800-member congregation issued a declaration of independence from the denomination on July 4, 1996, which the synod and classis do not recognize. Nor do they recognize Rhem’s attorney, Roger W. Boer, who is not permitted to represent Rhem in the church proceedings.

Moths said the RCA does not permit ministers to unilaterally resign from the denomination.”Yet the congregation continues to insist that it’s independent, but it has no authority to make that declaration,”Moths said.

Boer was unavailable for comment, and a spokesman for Rhem’s church declined comment on the advice of counsel.

The Reformed Church in America, founded in 1628, is the oldest Protestant denomination in the United States and has a membership of some 300,000.

The RCA General Synod, the major governing body of the denomination, will hold its annual meeting June 14-20 in Milwaukee, Wis., but Moths said the Rhem issue is unlikely to be mentioned at the denominational meeting.

MJP END LEBOWITZ