Our Distinctives
Reformed
Historically, the doctrines of the Reformed Faith have been summarized in five sola (“alone” or “only”) statements: (1) Scripture Alone: the Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God, given by His inspiration, and are the only rule of faith and life (WCF 1:2); (2) Christ Alone: the Lord Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and the only Mediator between God and Man, and through whom His people are redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified (WCF 8:1-2); (3) Faith Alone: receiving and resting on Christ and His righteousness is the alone instrument of justification, Christ’s righteousness being imputed to those who believe (WCF 11:1-2); (4) Grace Alone: God effectually calls and regenerates those whom He has chosen, not by anything foreseen in them, but by His free and special grace alone (WCF 10:2); (5) God’s Glory Alone: As Creator of all things and Redeemer of the elect, God works all things to the praise and glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy (WCF 5:1).
Confessional
Often, believers will declare their submission to God’s Word in saying, “I have no creed, but the Bible.” However, in practice this usually means, “I have no creed, but the Bible as I interpret it” which makes doctrine both subjective and malleable. As a church and denomination, we believe that the Westminster Standards contain the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures. The Westminster Standards are comprised of the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger Catechism, and the Westminster Shorter Catechism, all of which were written in the 1640s by the Westminster Assembly in England. These three documents, along with the Presbyterian Church in America’s Book of Church Order, comprise the constitution of our church.
Presbyterian
Our church is not independent, but connectional and hierarchical. This means that while our local church, by itself, functions as the body of Christ, we maintain reciprocal accountability (are accountable to and for) the larger Church of our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). “The Church is governed by various courts, in regular gradation, which are all, nevertheless, Presbyteries, as being composed exclusively of presbyters. These courts are church Sessions, Presbyteries, and the General Assembly” (BCO 10:1-2). The church session consists of the pastor and ruling elders of the church (BCO 12:1). The presbytery consists of all the teaching elders and churches within its geographical bounds that have been accepted by the presbytery; all teaching elders and representative ruling elders comprise the court of the presbytery (BCO 13:1-2). The General Assembly is the highest court of the church and represents in one body all the churches of the denomination; all teaching elders and representative ruling elders comprise the court of the General Assembly (BCO 14:1).
Worship
In the public and corporate worship of our church we hold to the regulative principle of worship and emphasize the ordinary means of grace. The regulative principle of worship refers to the distinctive of the Reformed tradition wherein the corporate worship of God is conducted according to the Word of God. Specifically, this means that we seek to worship God only in the ways that He has prescribed or commanded us to worship Him in the Scripture (Deut 12:32; Exo 20: 4-6; Matt 15:7-9; Col 2:20-23; WCF 21:1). The ordinary means of grace refers to those things which Christ ordinarily uses to communicate the benefits of redemption to His people: the reading and preaching of God’s word, the administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper, and prayer (WSC 88).
The Spirituality of the Church
Many contemporary churches suffer from “mission creep” in which the concerns of this world (whether they be cultural or political) have become a distraction from the true mission of the church. The doctrine of the spirituality of the Church is the Reformed way of keeping religion and politics (or cultural issues) separate and allows the church to be the church. The church is a community specially created by Christ and his Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:11-13), a community that is not defined by or identified with any existing institution or community of this world (John 18:36).
The church, qua church, is “to handle, or conclude nothing but that which is ecclesiastical: and are not to intermeddle with civil affairs which concern the common wealth, unless by way of humble petition in cases extraordinary; or, by way of advice, for satisfaction of conscience, if they be thereunto required by the civil magistrate” (WCF 31.5). Thus, the tasks assigned to the church in the New Testament are: exercising the keys of the kingdom (Matt. 16:18-19); conducting discipline according to the Law of God (Matt. 18:15-17); baptizing and making disciples of Christ (Matt. 28:19-20); preaching the gospel (2 Tim. 4:15); celebrating the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:17-34); ordaining ministers (1 Tim. 4:14; Titus 1:5-9); diaconal aid to the poor (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Tim. 5:3-16).
Theology of the Cross
Jesus spoke of how He, as the Christ and Son of Man, must suffer many things, be rejected by men, killed, and then after three days rise again. Here, Jesus was articulating what we might call a “theology of the cross.” Yet, the Apostle Peter had bought into a “theology of glory,” rebuking Jesus for speaking in such a way. In response, our Lord rebuked Peter saying, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests but on man’s” (Mark 8:27-38). Therefore, we ought not to look to man’s interests (any form or worldly wisdom or power), but to God’s interests (the foolishness of the gospel). And, just as Christ was glorified in His suffering, so are those who belong to Him.
The cross is the paradigm for how God deals with believers who are united to Christ by faith; therefore, great blessing comes through great suffering. The Scriptures tell us that God made foolish the wisdom of the world. The Apostle Paul writes, “We preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). Ministers of the gospel – and all believers – are to boast in nothing else but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:14; 1 Corinthians 1:21-25). So, with the Apostle Paul, we believe that God’s power is perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
Expository & Christ-centered Preaching
We believe that preaching ought to be expository and Christ-centered. By expository we mean that the text of Scripture upon which the sermon is based, is that which determines the content of the sermon. In this way our preacher is trusting in the transformational power of the Word of God, as the church submits to the truth of the Scriptures, and the power of the Holy Spirit to speak to us therein. Expository preaching also means that the preacher stands upon the authority of God’s Word when he declares what the text says, and only what the text says. Of course, the preacher will make pointed and specific application, but again, this is determined and extrapolated by the text.
By Christ-centered we mean that we also understand the text based upon the person and work of Christ. That is, the progressive revelation of God which we find in Scripture, continually points us to the saving work of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and His fulfillment of all God’s covenant promises. Each text brings us to Christ. The way in which each text brings us to Christ is not imposed by the preacher but rather is determined by that text itself. The expository and Christ-centered nature of our preaching work hand in hand, as we seek to mimic the preaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, as he came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).