It’s finished! I was charged with the duty of designing a website for The Ohio Presbytery. Feel free to give it a looksy and make any suggestions.
Better yet, if you know anyone who desires a sound church in their area, suggest they give it a glance. There’s a page that lists the churches affiliated with our presbytery.
You’ll also notice that those who are interested in a PCA church plant can begin the conversation through the site. Our presbytery is dedicated to advancing the gospel in northern Ohio through church planting.
9 comments:
I wish you were not in the business of promoting a denomination. I wonder if Jesus promoted a denomination.
I wish you'd come and see that promoting the pure preaching of the gospel, the sacraments, church discipline, worship, fellowship of believers and a national (and international) unity of saints is the business of promoting Jesus Christ.
Then why promote a denomination? Was Jesus Reformed Presbyterian? Will we all be Reformed Presbyterians in heaven? No. We will be Christians there. That seems to be a specific enough title for us, does it not?
Jesus, through the Apostle Paul, ordained elders in each of the churches and saw to it that they were connected (Acts 15). So yes, He was a Presbyterian. He ordains the end from the beginning, so yes, He is Reformed.
Quite a stretch, but I suppose you must. If you believe what you say, then you must also, it seems, conclude that Baptists, Brethren, Grace Brethren, Methodist, and all other denominations are wrong in order for Reformed Presbyterianism to be the way, the truth, and the life. To say that Jesus was Reformed necessarily means that He was in need of reform--a claim I would not be willing to make. Rather than promote a denomination, a church, a catechism, why not simply promote Christ? Jesus did not ordain elders, but Paul instructed others to do so. Yet, there were to be elders appointed in each town (not in each church--as the church was simply comprised of the Christians in each town). There were not various denominations, other than those opposed by the apostle Paul as followers of men rather than of Christ alone.
According to you, I surmise, the worldwide church is apostate. Christ could not build his church; the gates of hell have prevailed. If there are Christians in the world, they are islands unto themselves without any church authorities to submit to as the Bible commands.
Wow. Not at all, Reverend! The worldwide church--comprised of all true believers--is alive and well. It seems to be the institutional church that is dying. I read about Jesus and the apostles, and could not find much in common with today's church. Was Jesus a Baptist? Was Paul a Methodist? Was Peter a Presbyterian? You said that Paul instructed others to appoint elders in every city. Who are the elders in Ashland? You see, it seems the church in Ashland is quite divided, with so many little groups each claiming to be the best church, and the body of Christ is divided. If Jesus were in Ashland, where would He attend? Do you not think that He would dislike all of the many divisions and groups each claiming to be the true church? Do you not think that Jesus would not be happy when Christians were not content to be Christians, but boasted of being Reformed Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, etc.? Were the Christians in Jerusalem in the early church, who were one and simply Christians, islands unto themselves? Had they no church leaders? You see, REVEREND (I wonder if Peter was called Reverend), today, if people do not like one so-called local church authority, he simply moves to another so-called local church. In the earlier years, there was only one church, and so one could not just keep moving to different so-called local churches until finding one he liked best. One followed Jesus. We need to be they who justify themselves before God according to the Scriptures, and not they who justify themselves before others. It is not difficult to see that in the Scriptures, there were not many denominations, but one church--Christians in each town with elders in that town. I suppose it is better to return to the way it began rather than try to justify our divisions.
Ano said, "Do you not think that He would dislike all of the many divisions and groups each claiming to be the true church?"
Including yours, the church of one, where no one holds you accountable.
This is the extreme hypocrisy of your comments. You rant about people moving to different churches, but you did it and then dropped out of church altogether.
Wow, Reverend. That comment was quite judgmental! Is it right to falsely accuse your brother or sister? Is that how one reacts when asked if we are following the Scriptures? Of course I am not a church of one. Of course I am accountable to others. Of course I meet with other Christians. If a member of the body of Christ, how can I drop out? Would you call your brother or sister a hypocrite for questioning whether or not we have fallen away from the intent of the Scriptures? Is it your sincere Biblical belief that one must pick and choose which division of the body of Christ to join or one is a hypocritical heretic? Reverend, as I listen to your sermons, I believe that you are a good guy who is sincerely doing what you believe to be right. I certainly would not want to falsely accuse and wrongly judge you and condemn you as a hypocrite. Unless you claim infallibility, though, certainly none of us are above improvement, and certainly questioning whether or not following a denomination is God's intent for His Church is not a wrong thing to do. Would you also condemn the Bereans for questioning the Apostle Paul's teaching and holding it to the truth of Scripture? I wonder why, though the Scriptures tell us to examine ourselves (I hope you do not think that means we are each an island without accountability) and to grow nearer to Christ together with others, and yet it seems that whenever a church leader is questioned by a lower class Christian, the upper class Christian condemns the heretical fool who would dare to question the infallible church authority. I suspect nearly every "pastor" in Ashland would condemn and rebuke any mere Christian member of the laity for asking, "Reverend--this is what the Scriptures seem to say. Is what your church doing right?" I suspect that ever "pastor" would first get defensive and then seek to justify himself or herself and try to belittle the questioning non-priestly Christian rather than get on his or her knees before God and the Scriptures and ask God about the matter. I wonder if that is what the prophets felt like. They often lived apart from others (sort of an island at times, would you not say), and then were condemned, falsely accused, imprisoned, etc. upon daring to suggest that the religious leaders might not be perfect or might not be as closely following the Scriptures as they had been taught in the religious schools. I did not see much of the Scripture nor much of the heart of Jesus in your latest comment. It is somewhat true that I am not a card-carrying member boasting of my church and denomination, but rather I choose to boast in the cross of Christ and to be a follower of the Lamb of God; and yes, I do so as I meet with other like-minded Christians. No man is an island, and certainly sincerely seeking God's truth does not make one a hypocritical heretic. Luther was not treated well at his seminary for questioning the religious leaders upon finding and studying the Scriptures, now was he? And yet, was he right? To hold fast to your "church" and denomination and boast about their accomplishments and greatness is your decision, Reverend. To do so on your knees in light of I Corinthians chapters 1 and 3, for example, is a good approach, I think. To condemn all others who, after years of searching the Scriptures and seeking God, have arrived at a conclusion to meet with other believers and have accountability outside of an official recognized denomination, however, seems to be not the best approach. Now, Reverend brother, can one not be, as the apostles were, true followers of Jesus without pledging allegiance to to a denomination?
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