To Evangelicals Tempted By Eastern Orthodoxy: Something To Watch Before You Convert

Planting A Reformed Congregation In Romania

Reformation Romania is a church planting project of the United Reformed Churches in North America. In this video Pastor Mihai Corcea explains what Eastern Orthodoxy looks like, on the ground, in Bucharest and how the influence of Eastern Orthodoxy has has actually made it more difficult to reach Romanians with the gospel. Continue reading →

The Church Has A Twofold Mission And Three Marks And Ending Payday Lenders Is None Of Them

Just before our Lord Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, he gave the visible, institutional church as twofold mission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, . . . Continue reading →

Thinking Of Planting A Confessional Reformed Church On The Plains?

It is not easy to plant a confessional Reformed congregation on the American Plains (the area of the USA from the between the Rockies and the Mississippi River, from Canada to Mexico). In some places it is sparsely populated. The confessional Presbyterian . . . Continue reading →

Some Reasons Why Visitors Do Not Stay And What To Do About It

Presbyterian and Reformed congregations occupy an odd space in American Christianity. We do not really belong to American Christianity in significant ways. Our roots are not in the nineteenth-century revivals nor even in the eighteenth-century revivals. We are no part of the . . . Continue reading →

Two Big Events In The Life Of A New Confessional Reformed Congregation

In Matthew 28:18–20 our Lord gave a mission to the visible, institutional church: preach the gospel, administer the sacraments, and make disciples. He did not give that mission to a million evangelical para-church organizations. He gave it to the visible church. The . . . Continue reading →

Indy Reformed: Why Creeds And Confessions?

Why do Christians have creeds (e.g., the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed) and confessions (e.g., the Belgic Confession)? Does having a creed or confession push the Scriptures to one side? Is it really possible to be creed-less? Chris Smith, of Indy Reformed, answers these questions. Continue reading →

Why The Mission Needs The Marks

Doubtless the one of the most significant movements within evangelicalism at the moment is the “emergent” or “emerging churches” movement. The adjectives “emerging” and “emergent” designate different wings of the movement. Generally, the “emergent” wing is more radical and the “emerging” wing a little less radical. Just as frequently, however, in the contemporary rhetoric from both wings of the movement no distinction is made and this essay will speak of the “emerging movement” (hereafter, EM). Like their older evangelical brothers and sisters, the EM also rejects (at least elements of) fundamentalism and revivalism. In their place, they are constructing a cross-traditional, eclectic synthesis. Continue reading →

Meet Phil Baiden: A Confessional Presbyterian Pastor In The UK

The HB tends to focus on advancing the Reformation among the Reformed and Presbyterian churches in North America but we know that it is happening elsewhere. One example of the recovery of the Reformed theology, piety, and practice is the Rev. Mr. Phil Baiden, pastor . . . Continue reading →

What Is The Church’s Big Mac?

The end of the semester is followed by the holidays so I just saw this post (HT: Aquila Report) discussing the declining fortunes of McDonalds restaurantsamong Millennials and comparing them to the church. The author notes “More people are wanting a customized, . . . Continue reading →