This year, at assemblies and synods across the country, we are hearing a similar concern: There is a shortage of pastors. Churches need men. Presbyteries need men. Mission works need men. Pulpits are opening, congregations are waiting, and the question keeps coming . . . Continue reading →
The 92nd General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church met at Geneva College from June 3–9, 2026. Geneva College, founded in 1848 and governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America—a sister NAPARC church—is a private Christian liberal arts college located . . . Continue reading →
Dear Friends, It is with joy that I share with you an update about our English-speaking, church-planting work Frankfurt Presbyterian Church, which, by the Lord’s grace, has experienced modest growth over the past two years and is slowly but surely taking root . . . Continue reading →
To begin with, the most popular argument I have heard for non-ordained commissioned deaconesses is that the constitution of the PCA BCO does not forbid it. This statement is correct, but I also believe it is not helpful. Liberals use this argument to express that Jesus . . . Continue reading →
Creeds, confessions, and catechisms are critically important in the evangelical Christian circles in Ethiopia. According to Ethiopian history, evangelical Christianity was introduced about a century ago to the land. It is held that it was first introduced by and as a result . . . Continue reading →
Central Presbyterian began with a small group of believers praying for a Christ-centered, gospel-proclaiming church in the heart of Orange County. What started as informal gatherings has grown into a worshipping community rooted in the Word and reaching into the city. Continue reading →
![baptism fin [recovered]](https://heidelblog.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/18153622/Smith_Reformed_Confessionalism-300x420.jpg)
When the strongest criticism I can make of a book is that the author used an obscure word (complexify, 45) that says something about the strength of a work.1 Let me say at the outset, I really like this book. This is . . . Continue reading →
We hold, also, that although we are baptized only once, yet the gain that it symbolizes to us reaches over our whole lives and to our death, so that we have a lasting witness that Jesus Christ will always be our justification . . . Continue reading →
…Rather than identifying Augustine and Aquinas as Roman Catholic theologians, I think it’s fair to say they are catholic writers—they comprise the common catholic (or universal) heritage that belongs to both Protestants and Roman Catholics. In fact, Herman Bavinck, another Reformed giant, . . . Continue reading →
Earlier R. Scott Clark wrote A Case for Confessional Membership.1 There he argued that Reformed churches should seek to raise their standards for church membership. One of the supporting arguments he listed in a footnote was the pastoral advice on church membership . . . Continue reading →
These days it seems like Christians are in search of conservatism in whatever forms they can find it, and with good reason. It seems like the cultural, political, and theological wheels on the bus are falling off. As a pastor I found . . . Continue reading →
The Christian church has always had a confession or a creed. There are creeds in Scripture itself, e.g., Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear O Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one.” This was recited in the synagogue as a confession of faith and it . . . Continue reading →
Who can join Christ’s church and under what conditions? This is a question that has sometimes roiled the church. In the modern period most churches, including confessional Presbyterian and Reformed (P&R) churches, have tended to take a rather different position than churches . . . Continue reading →
Since the 1970’s, the church governance of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) has recognized different categories of adherence and authority for what is said, believed, and confessed. An important study committee report in 1975 clarified that Scripture is the highest authority, followed . . . Continue reading →
In January of 2023, Classis Grand Rapids East of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) reported that they were committing $5,000 to a group within the CRC called Better Together, A Third Way. This group seeks to help churches build unity even when . . . Continue reading →
Every year, the General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church meets to consider the business of the church requiring the attention of the whole denomination, this summer meeting at Seattle Pacific University. This report summarizes some of the main conclusions from OPC . . . Continue reading →
The first two parts of this series discussed the confessional considerations for why I protested the sending of Overture 12 to the magistrates. In this final part, I provide two further considerations: practical and historical. II. Practical Considerations At this point, I . . . Continue reading →
4. Synods and councils are restricted in ways that individual church members, and even church officers, are not restricted. Chapter 31 of the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) does not restrict church members from handling or concluding matters that are not ecclesiastical. Continue reading →
Recently, I sent a (brief, four-page) protest to our Presbytery in response to its recent action of instructing our clerk to forward to the magistrates Overture 12 (adjusted for our geography) regarding transgender procedures for minors. Continue reading →
I was once a churchless evangelical. As a young Christian I attended a medium-sized (three-hundred member) Southern Baptist congregation for a few years without joining. It was not really a problem. Of course they would like to have seen me baptized (as . . . Continue reading →