Communion of the Saints: Creeds Lived in Community
Many of us recite the Apostles' Creed as part of our weekly Sunday worship. Whether you lead a congregation, a lay ministry, a nonprofit organization, or are employed in the secular workplace, if you are a regular reader of this magazine, you likely have committed the Apostles’ Creed to memory. In this edition, you will encounter many articles providing historical, practical, and sometimes personal perspectives on how creeds impact what we at Calvin Theological Seminary believe, teach, and practice.
It should come as no surprise that our faculty, staff, students, and graduates strive, admittedly haltingly at times, to embody a life shaped by the gospel as understood in the creeds and confessions. While many stories could be lifted up as examples, one that clearly brings to life the idea of “the communion of the saints” centers around Associate Professor Emeritus Carl Bosma.
Before joining our faculty, Bosma invested his life and ministry in Brazil. The ripple effect of his impact, building bonds of connection in South America, is still seen today in the generations of Brazilian students who attend and are alumni of Calvin Seminary, and who have gone on to influence others on both continents.
Reflecting on his time in Brazil, Bosma recalls: “As a pastor in Brazil for 14 years, I always reached out to the other denominations. I'm a networker by nature. So I networked with folks, because I believe in the communion of saints and catholicity of the church – the universal church in which we're all brothers and sisters in Christ.”
Bosma served not only as a pastor during his time in Brazil, but also taught at Seminário Presbiteriano do Sul in Campinas, São Paulo. It was through his involvement there – even after arriving on faculty at Calvin Seminary – that he influenced students such as Dr. Jean Gomes, now senior pastor at First Christian Reformed Church in Byron Center, Michigan. After graduating from SPS, Gomes decided to pursue a PhD in Systematic Theology at Calvin Theological Seminary largely because of Bosma’s influence.
Gomes says of Dr. Bosma: “Regardless of the context, whether in Brazil, whether here in Michigan, he does ministry in a relational environment, which is motivated by his focus on discipleship. There's no other way to do ministry without being in fellowship with others, in communion. The communion of saints is not only a blessing for us, it's also a necessity for the world. We want to see this spread everywhere.”
Thiago de Campos was introduced to Calvin Seminary by Rev. Carlos Machado (also known as “K”), a member of the church that Bosma led in Brazil. Through Bosma’s influence, Calvin Seminary’s reputation was well known, and when Thiago considered another advanced degree, his first choice was to attend Calvin Seminary. After completing his ThM in 2019, Thiago went back to Brazil to continue his ministry as a pastor and teacher, and yet still felt the burning questions that prompted him to pursue further education. In 2024, Thiago returned to Calvin Seminary and is now working on his PhD.
Even though he didn't meet Bosma in Brazil, Thiago now considers Bosma a friend. “When I think of the communion of saints, I don't just think of a doctrine, but of people,” Thiago says. “I think of faces, families, and groups who share life and faith together., I see these taking shape in my ministry when I see people ministering as priests to one another.”
Karis Mpindi (MDiv 2015), who got to know Bosma as a mentor while at Calvin Seminary, added, “I served in a church in Quebec, in French-speaking Canada. It was an interesting church. It was an urban church where a good part of the congregation were from Quebec, and another part were people from all over the world. We had to ask the question, ‘How are we going to worship and serve God together? What binds us together?’ What we often see is our differences, but when we think about the holy catholic apostolic church and the communion of the saints, what I think about primarily is people. I think about those relationships. But especially that one person, Christ, who has made our relationships possible. So now here at First CRC in Byron Center, if you come on a Sunday, you'll hear the word family. And it's not just the warm fuzzies, it's the reality of who we are in Christ. We are one because of what Christ has done for us and what Christ is doing through us by His Spirit.”
Bosma’s focus on relationships was a hallmark of his time at Calvin Seminary. He has carried that forth even in retirement, staying involved in international student activities and as a familiar face seen on campus and befriending current students.
“In my days, you didn't have a friendship relationship with a professor,” he remembers. “Professors just unloaded their academic bag, and it was assumed that you would be able to work that out in ministry.”
Contrasting this experience as a student in the previous century, Bosma said of a recent encounter: “I was at Thiago’s house for a Brazilian dinner, and there were two guests with us. We got involved in a theological discussion about exorcism. The seminary doesn't talk about it because we don't have that experience here, but in other countries, we do. It wasn't from an academic perspective; it was from a practical perspective. Afterwards, I had a cup of coffee with one of the Brazilian students. I do everything over a cup of coffee. And he said, ‘You know, that was the best theological education I've had.’ Here I was, talking with practitioners, people who are practicing the communion of saints, because we were at a dinner.’”
Scott Vander Ploeg (MDiv 2003, MTS 2013), who has accompanied Bosma to Brazil and has an ongoing friendship, endorses this relational approach.
“Carl was my Old Testament professor, so he taught me about hermeneutics, and he taught me Hebrew, and he taught me, you know, various forms of biblical criticism,” says VanderPloeg, a prolific church planter in Florida. “But that's not what he really taught me. That was the academic curriculum. Then there was the real curriculum, which was, I don't know why or how, but we just became friends. We've been friends since I was a student, and we continue to be friends to this day. If I come to Grand Rapids, we'll go get coffee. We enjoy talking together. We enjoy being friends. But I'll tell you why that's so important. As far as I can tell, almost nothing of consequence happens in this world that doesn't start with friendship. I can remember when I was a student, Carl would say, ‘Hey, don't have a whole bunch of different restaurants. Go to the same restaurant, get to know the waiter or waitress, you know, get in the same line at the grocery store.’ That's how it all gets started. Missions, innovations, church planting… It starts with a conversation that is wrapped in friendship. My friendship with Carl has changed my life.”
Adds Dr. Gomes: “Embodied theology is the very nature of true discipleship. By the way, this is the very language of the Nicene Creed: we are one, holy, catholic, apostolic… the communion of saints, and so on. From the embodied theology of the creed you get a theology that is not supposed to be contained, but rather to be multiplied and have this ripple effect.”
