Rev. Dr. James Hart Brumm Appoionted to Office of General Synod Professor

June 23, 2025

Rev. Dr. James Hart Brumm was appointed to the office of General Synod Professor on Monday, June 9. General Synod Professors are one of the four offices of the church, alongside elders, deacons, and ministers of Word and sacrament. General Synod Professors prepare and certify candidates for the ministry of Word and sacrament, as well as offer a “ministry of teaching within the RCA as a whole,” according to the Book of Church Order.

New Brunswick Theological Seminary (NBTS) proposed the recommendation on behalf of the NBTS Board of Trustees.

“As I finish my second and last year as moderator of the [NBTS] board, I am delighted and honored that my last official responsibility is to bring this recommendation regarding the appointment of a man who has been a generous mentor, friend, and teacher to me,” Rev. Abby Norton-Levering said. “I hope this appointment will be a rare moment when we can see the impact and value of a person’s work on the world, even the corner of the world called the Reformed Church in America, which, though be it small, remains, I believe, valuable and beloved in the eyes and hands of God.”

Brumm is ordained as a minister of Word and sacrament, has served as pastor of RCA churches, and as an area minister for the Regional Synod of New York. He currently serves as pastor of the First Reformed Church of New Brunswick and grew up in the Reformed Church of North Brunswick. He has served as moderator of the Commission on History and most recently as moderator of the Commission on Theology. Brumm has worked ecumenically with counterparts in the Christian Reformed Church in North America and he is a recognized scholar, having authored or edited nine volumes in the Historical Series of the RCA, as well as numerous articles. Brumm has also taught RCA liturgy and history in various schools and institutes.

Since 2014, Brumm has been the principal mentor to NBTS’s RCA students and their instructor in RCA history and worship. As a member of the seminary faculty, Brumm participates in the granting of Certificates of Readiness for Examination and is the director of the Reformed Church Center at New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Brumm has expanded the center’s teaching ministry for the RCA at large, while also organizing forums for the whole church, and has encouraged research on such matters through grant programs.

“James and I have been joking this synod that we have yet to speak in agreement on anything,” delegate Rev. Greg Brower said. “That is actually why I speak in support of him being General Synod Professor. I think that our strength as a denomination is that we are able to disagree and agree with grace. I know I am not right about everything and I need someone like James who disagrees with almost everything I think. And I think James thinks he needs someone like me, too. I am reminded in James that our unity is not uniformity, but it is our common love and our unity in Christ.”

“I accept the Scriptures as the only rule of faith and life, I accept the standards as historic and faithful witnesses to the Lord our God,” Brumm declared during his installation. “I promise to represent the Spirit of Christ in love and fellowship within the church, seeking the things that make for unity, purity, and peace.”

The full resolution:

Whereas the Rev. Dr. James L. H. Brumm was ordained as a
minister of Word and sacrament in the Reformed Church in
America in 1987 and has served as pastor of RCA churches in
South River, New Jersey; Grahamsville, New York; and
Rensselaer, New York; and as an area minister for the Regional
Synod of New York; and

Whereas the Rev. Dr. James L. H. Brumm has served the
Reformed Church in America faithfully as moderator of the
Commission on History for many years and most recently as
moderator of the Commission on Theology, and has worked
ecumenically with counterparts in the Christian Reformed
Church in North America; and

Whereas the Rev. Dr. James L. H. Brumm is a recognized
scholar, having authored or edited nine volumes in the
Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America, as well as
numerous articles, and has taught RCA liturgy and history in
various schools and institutes; and

Whereas, since 2014, the Rev. Dr. James L. H. Brumm has been
the principal mentor to the seminary’s RCA students and their
instructor in RCA history and worship; and as a member of the
seminary faculty participates in the granting of Certificates of
Readiness for Examination; and

Whereas, as director of the Reformed Church Center at New
Brunswick Theological Seminary, the Rev. Dr. James L. H.
Brumm has expanded the Center’s teaching ministry for the
Reformed Church in America at large, organizing forums for the
whole church that enable a variety of voices to be heard on
matters of importance to the church’s ministry and witness; and
has encouraged research on such matters through grant
programs;

Therefore be it resolved that the 218th regular session of the
General Synod of the Reformed Church in America, meeting in
Tucson, Arizona, from June 5 to 10, 2025, declares the Rev. Dr.
James L. H. Brumm a General Synod professor.

Photo and Source Credit: rca.org