tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3441908040982501903.post3153333837325993800..comments2023-12-18T19:38:22.023-08:00Comments on The Good Portion: Don't be a curmudgeon!Laurie M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15840896949617719814noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3441908040982501903.post-39631651542430466322009-08-30T13:57:50.354-07:002009-08-30T13:57:50.354-07:00Our church does has a Confession that they devised...Our church does has a Confession that they devised themselves several years ago. Although I wasn't here for its adoption (only been here 8 months), it does tick many of the 'Reformed' boxes. Personally, I do love the 1689!Joel Radfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00796489054976375444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3441908040982501903.post-72800850928992469542009-08-30T09:26:30.056-07:002009-08-30T09:26:30.056-07:00Joel,
Thanks for stopping by and getting me to rev...Joel,<br />Thanks for stopping by and getting me to revisit this article.<br /><br />We did adopt it, but not in total. I don't have a copy of the text with our annotations/adaptations, but I can summarize from memory. We did not adopt the statement that the Pope is the Antichrist, though at times it may be considered "an office of Antichrist".<br /><br />We also did not adopt the article regarding the Sabbath. We are not officially Sabbatarian, or unofficially. (Although our Sundays tend to be entirely wrapped up in Church activities anyway.) We believe that Christ IS our Sabbath rest and that the observation of sabbaths was the shadow of which Christ is the substance.<br /><br />In the question period leading up to our vote I requested clarification as to what this would mean to a prospective elder. "Does this mean that someone who is a Sabbatarian canNOT be an elder?" The answer was "yes". I was a bit puzzled about that, but the pastor's explanation satisfied me: we cannot have one elder counseling a congregant that it is okay to work on Sunday if duty requires - and his conscience is free in the matter, and have another elder confront him for being in sin for working on a Sunday. The elders need to be in agreement on key issues for the sake of the flock.<br /><br />In answer to my friend Andy's concern above, we lost one couple, ostensibly due to this vote. No one had known they opposed it until moment the vote was taken. It was fairly well assumed the vote would be unanimous. As it turned out, he had hoped to be an elder and this, along with other issues led them to leave the church.<br /><br />My husband voted in favor of the confession as a standard, though he knew it would exclude him from eldership. (He holds to the Lutheran view of con-substantiation. He also does not aspire to be an elder.) We both feel that this confession, as modified, is an appropriate base confession for prospective elders.<br /><br />Thanks for asking. Is your church confessional?Laurie M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15840896949617719814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3441908040982501903.post-50861860342636633412009-08-30T03:42:15.364-07:002009-08-30T03:42:15.364-07:00So did you end up adopting it in total? Or did yo...So did you end up adopting it in total? Or did you avoid certain chapters, e.g. Christian Sabbath?Joel Radfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00796489054976375444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3441908040982501903.post-90114273863422555202008-11-30T09:39:00.000-08:002008-11-30T09:39:00.000-08:00Our church is only a year old, with about 10 offic...Our church is only a year old, with about 10 official members, several more in the process of membership, and several more in attendance regularly. We've decided to do this early in the process, while we are still small, in order to avoid doctrinal drift in the future. There is very little chance of us dividing over this at this early stage, because we members are all in fairly hearty agreement. Since our government is congregational, it will simplify things greatly if we deal with this now. Having such a doctrinal criterion will be very helpful as others aspire to the office of elder. Also, in the off-"chance" that we would decide to affiliate with a reformed baptist denomination at some point, being already confessional will be helpful. Those are the main and best reasons. Thanks for asking.Laurie M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15840896949617719814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3441908040982501903.post-37021592519050033122008-11-30T06:21:00.000-08:002008-11-30T06:21:00.000-08:00Interesting process. What made the church move in ...Interesting process. What made the church move in this direction?<BR/><BR/>a clearly stated position of faith seems like a great idea, but are there any concerns with splitting the church over finalizing the confession?Ancotihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11867701557331682926noreply@blogger.com