Click here for the print edition (and Kindle) of this Declaration. To affirm this declaration and join the Conservative Christian Network, click here. Fulfilling a desire I’ve had for some time now, in July, 2013 I gathered together a group of pastors and ministry educators to discuss the future of conservative Christianity. As a result… Continue Reading
. In his farewell address to the Ephesian elders, Paul declared that he was “innocent of the blood” of all, because he had not shrunk from delivering to them “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:26–27). At its core, conservative Christianity aims to follow Paul’s example in successfully transferring the whole counsel of God to… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the boundary of Christian faith (1 Cor. 15). We also affirm that to ignore this boundary by granting Christian recognition to those who deny the gospel is to demean the gospel itself… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm that the center and apex of Christian faith and fellowship is the whole counsel of God, including right belief, right living, and right affection (Deut. 6:1–9). We further affirm that the transmission of biblical Christianity necessarily involves the preservation… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm that truth, goodness, and beauty are transcendent realities rooted in the nature of God and ultimately inseparable from each other (Phil. 4:8). Beliefs are true when they correspond to God’s understanding; acts are good when they correspond to God’s… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm that Christians are able to speak of orthopathy, or rightly ordered affections and appropriate worship (Deut. 6:5, Matt. 100mg viagra sale 22:37, Heb. 12:28). As the doctrines of the gospel are fundamental to Christianity, so is rightly ordered love… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm that manipulation of the visceral appetites is dangerous to rightly ordered worship and Christian piety (Phil. 3:19). We deny that the transmission of biblical truth can be rightly administered through the use of methods that appeal to the appetites.… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm that beauty exists in reality and is to be the pursuit of every believer (Phil. 1:9–11). We also affirm that the recognition of beauty is fundamental to worship and devotion, and a right approach to God entails both a… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm that the worship of God is regulated through his Word. Innovation, however well-intentioned, is “will-worship” (Col. 2:23), violates the free consciences of individual Christians (Rom. 14:5, 23), and is therefore displeasing to God (Matt. 15:9). We affirm that the… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm that ordinate affections are often expressed and evoked through works of imagination, which function through simile and metaphor. Among these are music, poetry, literature, and other arts. The Word of God itself is a work of imagination. At least… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm that inordinate expressions of worship often arise from hearts that are entangled in disordered loves. We affirm that expressions of orthopathy are grounded in harmony with God’s ultimate perception of truth, goodness, and beauty as revealed in Scripture… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm that expressions toward God, be they prayers, preached sermons, poems, or music, may be parsed for their meaning and judged for their appropriateness for worship. We affirm that understanding of meanings is gained both from Scripture and from… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm that much of popular culture is formulaic and sentimentalized, and that it tends toward banality and narcissism. We affirm that much popular music, through its stereotyped form, lacks the ability to communicate transcendent truth, virtue, and beauty, which are… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm the importance of beginning our pursuit of sound worship and holy living within the bounds of traditions that we have inherited from the saints of the entire church age (2 Tim. 2:2, Phil. 3:17). Many of these believers,… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm that twenty-first-century churches, like the churches of every age, must worship God in their own words, with their own voice. We add the qualification that these expressions must both embody ordinate affection and build on the tradition that… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm the necessity of passing these values to our children through regular catechesis, in faithful family worship, and by welcoming all ages into the corporate worship of our churches (Deut. 6:7, Eph. 6:4). Children learn rightly ordered worship and have… Continue Reading
This is a series to further explain the articles of “A Conservative Christian Declaration.” . We affirm the primacy of the local church in the conservation and nourishment of historic, biblical Christianity. We affirm that godly elders must patiently teach God’s Word and model right belief, living, and loving (1 Tim. 3:15, 4:16). We further affirm… Continue Reading