What Kind of Church Are You, Anyway?
Many first-time visitors or folks who are attending the church for the latest wedding or funeral will ask me about the affiliation or the doctrinal identity of our church. I frequently hear variants of the question, "What kind of a church is this?" I would like to answer, "We are a church that cares for broken people and trains vibrant Christians for service!" But I sense that such a response wouldn't satisfy the question at hand. Although we began 158 years ago as a Disciples of Christ church, we have practiced and taught what theologians call "Reformed Doctrine" for the past 30 years.
When I say "Reformed Doctrine," I am stating that our church subscribes to the doctrines of the early Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, John Calvin, John Knox and Johannes Oecolampdius as well as present-day Reformed theologians such as R. C. Sproul, J. I. Packer, John MacArthur, Martin Lloyd-Jones and John Piper.
We traditionally subscribe to standards and confessions accepted among Reformed congregations such as The Apostles' Creed, The Canons of Dordt (1618), The Belgic Confession (1618), The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), and The [London] Baptist Confession of Faith (1689).
Recommended Reading for Further Study
Some people instantly proclaim, "You're one of those Calvinist churches!" I have already acknowledge that we are guided by the doctrines taught by many of the early Protestant reformers including, but certainly not limited to, John Calvin. The Reformed tradition actually shared - and continues to share - many common doctrines with other mainline Protestant traditions. And to some extent we share certain doctrinal beliefs and confessions with Christians of the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox (Catholic) Church, sometimes called the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Over the following months, I will offer some titles for further study about Reformed doctrine. My purpose is to help you to understand the distinctives of the Reformed tradition - the things that set us apart from other traditions - and the doctrines we confess in common with many other Christians.
The first title I offer for your consideration is What Is Reformed Theology: Understanding the Basics by Robert Charles (R. C.) Sproul, published by Baker Books, Grand Rapids (2012). This a a very good book for anyone who wants to understand how you may agree with - or differ from - Reformed doctrine. This book is respectful of all Christian traditions while explaining WHY Reformed theologians believe what we do, something missing from the small-minded name callers who live to cause trouble. Click here for Amazon link.
Many first-time visitors or folks who are attending the church for the latest wedding or funeral will ask me about the affiliation or the doctrinal identity of our church. I frequently hear variants of the question, "What kind of a church is this?" I would like to answer, "We are a church that cares for broken people and trains vibrant Christians for service!" But I sense that such a response wouldn't satisfy the question at hand. Although we began 158 years ago as a Disciples of Christ church, we have practiced and taught what theologians call "Reformed Doctrine" for the past 30 years.
When I say "Reformed Doctrine," I am stating that our church subscribes to the doctrines of the early Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, John Calvin, John Knox and Johannes Oecolampdius as well as present-day Reformed theologians such as R. C. Sproul, J. I. Packer, John MacArthur, Martin Lloyd-Jones and John Piper.
We traditionally subscribe to standards and confessions accepted among Reformed congregations such as The Apostles' Creed, The Canons of Dordt (1618), The Belgic Confession (1618), The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), and The [London] Baptist Confession of Faith (1689).
Recommended Reading for Further Study
Some people instantly proclaim, "You're one of those Calvinist churches!" I have already acknowledge that we are guided by the doctrines taught by many of the early Protestant reformers including, but certainly not limited to, John Calvin. The Reformed tradition actually shared - and continues to share - many common doctrines with other mainline Protestant traditions. And to some extent we share certain doctrinal beliefs and confessions with Christians of the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox (Catholic) Church, sometimes called the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Over the following months, I will offer some titles for further study about Reformed doctrine. My purpose is to help you to understand the distinctives of the Reformed tradition - the things that set us apart from other traditions - and the doctrines we confess in common with many other Christians.
The first title I offer for your consideration is What Is Reformed Theology: Understanding the Basics by Robert Charles (R. C.) Sproul, published by Baker Books, Grand Rapids (2012). This a a very good book for anyone who wants to understand how you may agree with - or differ from - Reformed doctrine. This book is respectful of all Christian traditions while explaining WHY Reformed theologians believe what we do, something missing from the small-minded name callers who live to cause trouble. Click here for Amazon link.
The next title I offer for your consideration is The Collected Works of E. M. Bounds by Edward McKendree (E. M.) Bounds, (Kindle E-Book version, pictured left) published by Dancing Unicorn Books (2016). Although written primarily for clergy, this a a very good collection of books for anyone who desires a deeper understanding of the discipline of prayer. It doesn't get any better than E. M. Bounds. Price is a no-brainer. Click here for an E-Book version (Kindle) from Amazon for $0.99. Hard copies are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook, etc. A hard copy of E. M. Bounds On Prayer (essentially the same book, pictured right) is published by Whitaker House (1997) paperback, and is available at Christianbook.com as of this writing. Click here for link.