Category Archives: Ecclesiology

Elements of Balanced Preaching

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Preaching is one of my favorite subjects to read about, think about, and talk about. In fact, it is one of my priorities in my personal ministry. How great is the priority of preaching for you? Whereas some preachers say that they hold to a high view of Scripture, they seem to have lowered their confidence in God’s Word when they preach it. In general there seems to be a decreasing confidence in the pulpit ministry. Preachers who experience a crisis in personal identity and who have no clear and bold conviction about preaching often seem to lack a Biblical focus in other aspects of ministry.

Whose Expectations Are We Fulfilling?

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As I was reading a letter from a missionary to a supporting church, I was struck with something he wrote. I am personally acquainted with the missionary and believe him to be a very sincere and serious servant of Christ. The sentence that forced me to do some personal meditation was this: “We want to be doing the job that you, our supporters, expect of us.” I am a strong believer in accountability because a clear sense of accountability is a good discipline to help us focus on our effectiveness.

Is There a Future for Our Kind of School?

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Let’s face it. Traditional Bible colleges and theological seminaries are seeing difficult times as a result of declining enrollments and diminished financial resources. Whereas in earlier times terms such as “recruitment” and “retention” were unheard of as enrollments swelled, today they assume great importance as schools compete for students. While there are, no doubt, several reasons for this decline, a major factor is the dwindling number of people who sense the call of God into vocational Christian service. In fact, many leaders of Christian organizations actually deny that there is such a thing as a call from God into His service.

The Goal of Faith Baptist Theological Seminary

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Faith Baptist Theological Seminary trains Christian leaders who are Bible expositors. Since our seminary’s inception, we have set this as our goal. 1. Our Curriculum To help us realize our goal we developed a comprehensive curriculum. We offer Greek and Hebrew so that our students can accurately determine the meaning of the Bible from its original languages. In English Bible classes students learn how to interpret and explain the Bible’s message. We desire our graduates to make the study of God’s Word their life-long ambition, and so we equip them for this endeavor.

What’s In a Name?

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As new local churches are begun, there is a growing tendency to name them without a prominent denominational label, even when there may be some actual tie to a denominational fellowship or the church may be structured according to a certain denominational pattern. Even well established churches have adopted name changes in which a denominational designation has been exchanged for a more non-denominational label such as “Bible church” or “community church.” Is there any value in keeping the denominational designation in a church’s name where it has a place of prominence?

View on Ecclesiastical Separation

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FBBC&TS has long been associated with the separatist movement. It has stood against religious apostasy, and sought to maintain a Biblical position in the area of ecclesiastical relationships. Its institutional Statement of Belief states: “We believe that progressive sanctification involves separation not only from ungodly living but also from ungodly teaching; that though we love all men and seek their salvation, there are areas in which we cannot have fellowship with unbelievers; that, in areas of ecclesiastical fellowship, it may be necessary to separate even from our brethren in Christ, if they in turn maintain fellowship with unbelievers” (FBBC College Catalog, 1992–1995, p.

Chuck Colson and The Body Book

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Chuck Colson, special assistant to President Nixon and the hatchet man for that administration, became a Christian in prison during 1973. Three years later he founded Prison Fellowship International, a global ministry to prisoners and their families. Over the past twenty years, Colson has become an influential voice in American evangelicalism. He has authored a number of significant books, beginning with his testimony in Born Again and Life Sentence. He continued with devotional and discipling books such as Loving God and Who Speaks for God?

The Doctrine of the Church and Its Identifying Marks

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There is much confusion these days over what the Bible teaches about the church. Here at Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary we are often asked what we believe in this area, and we are glad for the opportunity to set forth our convictions. There is much more that could be said about the church but these comments reflect our basic understanding of what the Scriptures teach. Significance We believe that the doctrine of the church is just as significant as any of the other grand teachings of Scripture.

Biblical Unity

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The local church is not a building made of mortar, nor a human society, nor an informal gathering of believers, nor a club. Rather, it is a group of professing baptized believers in Christ who have organized themselves for the purpose of doing God’s will. In effect, the local church is the sum total of all the believers in the assembly, not just the leaders or the uniquely gifted. The actual work of the church is not to be conducted by the “clergy,” some paid professionals, or by a select few.

The Danger of Drifting

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I. The Principle of Drifting Every organization sooner or later faces the danger of losing its founding focus and of moving away from the distinctive characteristics, priorities, and convictions which brought it into existence. Some of the factors which help to bring this about are Time, Size, and Affluence. The longer an organization is in existence and the larger and more prosperous it becomes, the greater the tendency to shift the organizational emphasis and one’s loyalty from the original distinctive convictions to support for and loyalty to the organization itself.