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I was baptised and raised in the Independent Reformed Church. You may never have heard of this denomination. It is made up chiefly of Dutch immigrants and their descendants and believes that the Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism contain the system of doctrine taught in Scripture. They use only the KJV. When I was little my father made me cross out all the italicised words in my Bible because they were not there in the original text. "Red-letter" editions of the Bible are banned, for they exalt the actual words of Jesus above the rest of the text, which is all God's word and just as inspired as anything Jesus said.
I was raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, coming to a saving faith in Christ when I was 14. After leaving school, I married my cousin Wilhelmina Plugg, with whom I had three children. The IRC believes itself to be the only true church; it is forbidden to marry outside of it.
In my early twenties I felt God calling me to become a minister. Through Christ's strength I overcame my disability (I am partially deaf and require hearing aids) and graduated Bible College, receiving a call to pastor the Darlingdale IRC. Sadly, my wife had an affair with an elder, so I divorced her and claimed sole custody of our children. During this time I was tested more severely than Job. Not only did I lose my wife but I was also removed from office, for a divisive element in the church twisted I Tim 3:2 and turned the majority of the congregation against me and voted me out.
It was then that I realised that the IRC was not a true church. Taking a small band of loyal followers from the IRC with me, I began attending the Confessional Presbyterian Church. Here I came to the realisation that the Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism were wrong and that the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Shorter and Larger Catechisms contained the only true system of doctrine. It wasn't long before I became an elder in the CPC. I also remarried.
But for a period of almost twenty years I felt deep dissatisfaction. I could not receive a call to pastor anywhere. Here I was, called by God and qualified to be a pastor, equipped with all the spiritual gifts, and yet God's people wouldn't recognise me and acknowledge me as their shepherd. The verse "No prophet is accepted in his own country" brought comfort to me during this time. If Jesus had the same problem, how could I hope to be spared? Finally the pastor of the Darlingdale CRC resigned. The congregation searched for a pastor for two years without any luck. Eventually they extended a call to me. I was voted in by a small majority, and I have been pastor there for the last eight years. Through the rigorous implementation of church discipline, I have lead the congregation out of divisiveness and into perfect unity. Even though our numbers are now greatly reduced, yet a faithful remnant remains.
It is difficult to choose a favourite Bible verse. It's a tossup between Matt 10:34 — "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword" and Matt 18:18 — "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
I was raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, coming to a saving faith in Christ when I was 14. After leaving school, I married my cousin Wilhelmina Plugg, with whom I had three children. The IRC believes itself to be the only true church; it is forbidden to marry outside of it.
In my early twenties I felt God calling me to become a minister. Through Christ's strength I overcame my disability (I am partially deaf and require hearing aids) and graduated Bible College, receiving a call to pastor the Darlingdale IRC. Sadly, my wife had an affair with an elder, so I divorced her and claimed sole custody of our children. During this time I was tested more severely than Job. Not only did I lose my wife but I was also removed from office, for a divisive element in the church twisted I Tim 3:2 and turned the majority of the congregation against me and voted me out.
It was then that I realised that the IRC was not a true church. Taking a small band of loyal followers from the IRC with me, I began attending the Confessional Presbyterian Church. Here I came to the realisation that the Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism were wrong and that the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Shorter and Larger Catechisms contained the only true system of doctrine. It wasn't long before I became an elder in the CPC. I also remarried.
But for a period of almost twenty years I felt deep dissatisfaction. I could not receive a call to pastor anywhere. Here I was, called by God and qualified to be a pastor, equipped with all the spiritual gifts, and yet God's people wouldn't recognise me and acknowledge me as their shepherd. The verse "No prophet is accepted in his own country" brought comfort to me during this time. If Jesus had the same problem, how could I hope to be spared? Finally the pastor of the Darlingdale CRC resigned. The congregation searched for a pastor for two years without any luck. Eventually they extended a call to me. I was voted in by a small majority, and I have been pastor there for the last eight years. Through the rigorous implementation of church discipline, I have lead the congregation out of divisiveness and into perfect unity. Even though our numbers are now greatly reduced, yet a faithful remnant remains.
It is difficult to choose a favourite Bible verse. It's a tossup between Matt 10:34 — "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword" and Matt 18:18 — "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
. Our Lord certainly seems to have tested your faith and it is a credit to you that you have struggled through unwaveringly. 
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