Background
Hendrikse grew up in a non-religious family in the Alblasserwaard. His father was a veterinary surgeon.
Hendrikse grew up in a non-religious family in the Alblasserwaard. His father was a veterinary surgeon.
He went to school in Gorinchem and studied in Nyenrode (1968-1971) and Michigan State University (1971-1972). After becoming interested in religion, he studied theology at the Utrecht University between 1977 and 1983, before becoming a preacher.
Between 1972 and 1983 he worked for Xerox. The Church considered at first taking disciplinary action against Hendrikse, but dropped the case in 2009. The authorities stated that such a case would merely result in "a protracted discussion about the meanings of words that in the end will produce little clarity." Hendrikse has said that he would "rather remain as a louse in the fur of the PKN" than leave and form his own religious community.
Hendrikse"s religious point of views are not considered very extreme in a large part of the Netherlands.
Hendrikse features in the novel Artush and Zaur, by Ali Akbar, in which he performs a wedding ceremony for the homosexual protagonists.
