The publisher's desk
What does it mean to re-kindle a Reformed identity in our denomination — and why is that so important?
Defining a reformed identity
Many people in our society — our youth in particular — yearn for meaningful identity, positive affiliation and spiritual wholeness. In some respects we live in a “post-denominational” time in which people join churches as a matter of convenience (it’s the church around the corner) or a matter of program (the church has a great youth program). But many among us believe that church affiliation goes far deeper than that. Our leaders have heard Presbyterians saying that being Presbyterian and Reformed is important — more important than convenience and program — and has a great deal to offer. Being Presbyterian is a matter of theology, values and polity.
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What in the church is the reformed tradition?
Presbyterians regularly encounter a puzzling term used to characterize their church: the Reformed tradition. It may seem odd, in a time when many church members move easily from one denomination to another, to stress the particularity of one ecclesial tradition. Is Presbyterian emphasis on the Reformed tradition an anxious response to widespread confusion about purpose? Are Presbyterians desperately grasping the term Reformed in an attempt to carve out a distinctive presence on the Protestant landscape?
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The great ends of the church
Did you know that the PC(USA) has a mission statement, otherwise known as the Great Ends of the Church? In 1997, the 209th General Assembly encouraged Presbyterian churches to recommit themselves to these six Great Ends as a sign of common grounding in Jesus Christ. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of this recommitment to Christ as the church’s one foundation and the mission to which Christ continues to call us all, Witherspoon Press announces the publication of the two books that complete the Great Ends of the Church series. Each book in the set takes an in-depth look at one Great End. However, the authors provide more than theological discourse at an intellectual level. They write to engage readers’ hearts and minds
and to encourage us to discern how to live faithfully and obediently in service to Christ.
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