Why Just Having a Doctrinal Statement For Your Church, May Not Be Enough
When I was a kid, my parents made me memorize the Heidelberg Catechism, 129 questions and answers. Memorize the whole thing! You couldn’t get kids to do that today at gunpoint!
The catechism was the framework for understanding a reformed, covenantal, biblical worldview. As a 12-14 year old, I couldn’t have cared less. When I asked my parents “why,” they said they didn’t simply want me to know what Christians believed, but why we believed it. What a novel thought! But even now, 50 years later, what I learned way back then, the Holy Spirit still uses to remind me why I have the confidence I do in God’s truth.
Every church has a Statement of Doctrine. But half dozen years ago, the elders at my church felt we needed more than a statement of what we believe. We came under conviction that with biblical truth under attack everywhere, our people needed more context. They needed to know why we believe, what we believe!
The catechism was the framework for understanding a reformed, covenantal, biblical worldview. As a 12-14 year old, I couldn’t have cared less. When I asked my parents “why,” they said they didn’t simply want me to know what Christians believed, but why we believed it. What a novel thought! But even now, 50 years later, what I learned way back then, the Holy Spirit still uses to remind me why I have the confidence I do in God’s truth.
Every church has a Statement of Doctrine. But half dozen years ago, the elders at my church felt we needed more than a statement of what we believe. We came under conviction that with biblical truth under attack everywhere, our people needed more context. They needed to know why we believe, what we believe!
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