Semper Reformanda: Trauma?

Posted on August 25, 2022 by blund

Not many years ago, we were told we needed a new reformation, this time of deeds, not creeds. That was Rick Warren in 2005, some 17 years ago using church growth methods. The emergent movement took postmodern thought and said we need a new trajectory, a reformation not from a new (biblical/theological) center, but with a new direction.

Now we are a long way from those naïve decades, and so a new call arises:

The church needs a new racial reconciliation mov't, one that's minority-led and trauma-informed, employs a robust theology of repentance/repair, centers core concerns of communities of color, recognizes racism's structural dimensions, embraces asymmetrical roles/responsibilities.
— Duke Kwon (@dukekwondc) July 7, 2022

Now comes the call for yet another reformation, this time employing the most up-to-date methods of the zeitgeist: trauma, structural/systemic measurements, and intersectionality.

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A Prayer For Study

Posted on August 30, 2021 by blund

A prayer from Flemish theologian Andreas Hyperius:

Thou, most wise heavenly Father, art the fount and origin of all knowledge and wisdom: thou pourest into the minds of all men knowledge of thyself and of thy will, thou pourest understanding, weightiness of judgment, prudence, right counsel, and the other excellent gifts of the Holy Spirit, by which thou both unitest, in accordance with thy good pleasure, and teachest the minds not only of small children but even of babes and sucklings, and fashionest their mouths to exalt thee with praises. I therefore pray that thou wouldst render my natural disposition docile both to the discipline of piety and to all good arts, in order that, when, by means of the example and aid of thy Son Jesus Christ, I have made some progress in true wisdom and grace and age before thee and before men, I may continuously refer all my study and effort to magnifying and propagating the glory of thy name and of the same your Son and to the advantage of men, through the same our Lord Christ. Amen.

Thanks to Dr. Scott Swain for the notice, and Dr. E. Hutchinson for the translation.

Black Bartholomew’s Day

Posted on August 24, 2021 by blund

Today is a grim day. Reformed Christians have no true “holy-day” except the Lord’s Day (Rev 1:10), nevertheless there are seasons and days that are important.[1] Today is one of those important days to me, and it is a grim day.

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, 1572
On August 24th, 1572, the St. Bartholomew’s Massacre was in full effect. Begun the night before with the attempted assassination of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, many of the wealthiest French Reformed Christians were in town for the wedding of Henry of Navarre. After a few days, as many as ten thousand were dead.

In Roman Catholic France, the Reformed faith was viewed as wicked and with suspicion, a foreign infection from Frenchman Jean Caulvin (John Calvin) inserting itself from Geneva. But despite the distrust of Protestant theology in Popish France, the Reformed faith was flourishing. In 1555, there were ten churches in all of France that held to Calvin’s Reformed theology. Just seven years later, there were 2,000 churches that were Reformed Protestant strongholds. These Reformed believers went forth boldly under that name “Huguenots.”

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Podcast: Presentation at The Davenant Institute

Posted on May 24, 2021 by blund

Here is the recording of my presentation for the Regional Convivium Irenicum, 2021, at The Davenant House. It was a joy to be with those brothers and sisters!

Conference: Reformed in America

Posted on October 18, 2013 by blund

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Truly a needed conversation by two experts – Drs. Alan Strange and D.G. Hart – in Des Moines, IA.
The Reformed In America conference will be held in Des Moines, IA, on November 1 – 2, 2013. Hosted by Grace OPC and Providence URC, the conference organizers ask that you RSVP to ReformedInAmericaDM2013 AT gmail DOT com. From the PDF flier:

Is there an American form of Christianity? Many believers who live in the United States would be content simply to identify themselves as Christians, others as American Christians, and still others would be inclined to say they are Christians in America. But are believers in any of these groups able to identify distinctive traits of American Christianity? Do you know enough of the history of Christianity in this country to recognize how your own expression of Christian faith and practice has been shaped by America in the modern age, for good or ill?

None of us are simply “biblical Christians” but have a history that has shaped us in one way or another. Reformed Christians have a rich heritage going back to the Protestant Reformation in sixteenth-century Europe, but they also have a peculiar history in the United States. Join us for this free two day conference which will explore some of the major outlines of the history of Reformed & Presbyterian Christianity in the United States.

You can find more at their Facebook and Twitter (@ReformedInUSA13) locations.

Schedule

Friday, November 1
Session 1 at 7:00pm
Alan Strange: “The Tumultuous Beginnings of American Presbyterianism”
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What Is the Definition of Missional?

Posted on April 25, 2013 by blund

Jeff Vanderstelt on the definition of “missional” (around the 1:55 mark of this video):

A man stood up at a conference and said, “Missional is the new ‘seeker’… the church finally getting its hands dirty.” Someone asked me to respond to him.

When we say missional, what we mean is:

God’s church is so saturated in the gospel and the mission of Jesus, that they see themselves as the sent ones of Jesus in all of life, to make disciples who make disciples, so that the earth is saturated with people who love Jesus and God is glorified in all things. That’s what I mean when I say missional… I want you to understand there are lots of definitions out there, but I when I say [missional] that’s what I mean.

Could you get behind that definition of “missional?” Why or why not?

Certainly, some terms need to be parsed out. As much as I appreciate Vanderstelt’s ministries, I’m not sure his definition of “God’s church” is the exact same as the Reformed confessions. Nevertheless, there is a lot of good here to chew on.

Vanderstelt also suggests that we ought not quibble over terminology: Why I’m tired of Hearing About “Missional”.

For more, go back to WSCal’s 2008 annual conference Missional & Reformed: Reaching the Lost & Teaching the Reached. The audio lectures up for free are:

Why the Mission Needs the Marks of the Church
The Mission and the Confession of the Church: Friend or Foes?
Why the Marks of the Church Need the Mission
Mission According to Paul
Mission in a Pluralistic Age
Mission and Missions: Evangelism in the 21st Century
Missional and Reformed (Q&A Session)

Michael Horton sums it up: “The mission of the Church is to evidence & execute the marks of the Church.”

Amen.

Reformed Piety

Quote

Posted on January 28, 2013 by blund

“The thesis of this study is that Charles Hodge manifested the attributes associated with Calvinistic confessionalism (strong adherence to creedal religion, liturgical forms, and corporate worship) as well as characteristics of evangelical pietism (the necessity of vital religion marked by conversion, moral activism, and individual pious practices)…

The unique combination of confessionalism and pietism characterized Charles Hodge’s spiritual life from the cradle to the grave.”

Hoffecker pp. 32 – 3

Pro Omnibus Sanctis

Posted on November 1, 2012 by blund

Celebrated in the earliest days of the Church as Αγίων Πάντων (All Saints), this is a fantastic rendering of the eighteenth century hymn by Indelible Grace. As you ponder the church militant (Christians laboring for Christ on yet on earth) and the church triumphant (those saints who have entered into their rest), may this song encourage you to labor on til that yet more glorious Day.

Gaffin on Romans 8 and Sanctification

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Dr. Richard Gaffin on Romans 8:29 and God’s purpose for holiness in predestination:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Ten Propositions from Christ the Lord

Posted on August 22, 2012 by blund

After the Lordship-Salvation controversy between John MacArthur and Zane Hodges in the 1980’s, the White Horse Inn crew released Christ the Lord: The Reformation and Lordship Salvation (Baker, 1992). At the end of their collection of essays, ten propositions are put forward. Here they are for you to chew on. Thoughts?

It is impossible that saving faith can exist without a new nature and thereby new affections (love, a desire for holiness, and so on).
Saving faith is nevertheless not the same thing as such affections or desires and does not include in its definition the effects of which the new birth is the cause.
It is not enough to say that we are justified and accepted by grace alone, for even Rome has agreed that is is only by God’s grace that we can become transformed in holiness. We must add that we are justified by grace alone through faith alone, and it is a great error to change the meaning of faith to include acts of obedience and repentance in an effort to make a disposition other than knowledge, assent, and trust a condition of justification.
The definition of saving faith is: Knowledge, which we take to mean the intellectual grasp of the relevant historical and doctrinal facts concerning Christ’s person and work and our misery; Assent, or the volitional agreement of our hearts and minds that these facts are true; and Trust, which is the assurance that these facts that are true are not only true generally, but true in my own case. In this way I abandon all hope for acceptance with God besides the holiness and righteousness of Christ.

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