Last week, I went out to Seattle for my ordination examination on the Seattle Presbytery floor. I had a healthy dose of nervousness as the time approached but I also was confident that I could respond to questions about my beliefs and life experiences.
One of the requirements for the Presbyterian church ordination is to write a statement of faith and respond to questions about the content. I decided to write a straightforward statement without any flowery analogies or sentimental word pictures. One of my goals was to present my beliefs in a way that would allow for questions about the content and then my response in the form of stories that described how my beliefs translate into real, everyday life.
As I reflected on my approach, my mind jumped to my former occupation of software development. My main area of expertise was user-interface design. My goal in that area was always to create a presentation layer so that any person could use the computer application without being tied down by the details that went on "behind the scenes."
In many ways, my response to theological questions often follows the same sequence, meaning that I often know the "machine language" underneath but my responses to questions are more "user-friendly" than simply stating the Nicene Creed or my statement of faith. I have a long way to go on this but I am learning how to do it.
Here is my statement of faith that I shared with the Seattle Presbytery last week:
I believe in the triune God whom Scripture bears witness as the God of history with the people of Israel and the God of the new covenant with all humanity in Jesus Christ. By the Holy Spirit human persons are incorporated into Christ and receive adoption as children of God. The confession of the triune God summarizes the witness of Scripture of God’s immeasurable love incarnate in Jesus Christ and experienced and celebrated by the Spirit in the community of faith, the church. The triune God provides the gift of justification by grace through faith in the form of a new identity in Christ and the grace for the community to grow into that identity. Just as the Father sent the Son, and the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit, the triune God sends the church into the world to bear witness to the gospel and serve all people.
I believe in God the Father who created the heavens and the earth and sustains all creation. God chose Abraham and his seed to be blessed in order to be a blessing to the nations. God liberated Israel from Egypt and sent prophets to remind Israel of their covenantal responsibilities. In the fullness of time, God sent his Son not to condemn the world but to save it.
I believe in Jesus Christ who is the Son of God, both fully God and fully human, and he is the image of the invisible God. He was sent in order to destroy the power of sin and death. He reconciled humanity to God through his sinless life, atoning death on the cross, and resurrection. The person and work of Jesus Christ opened the covenant to Gentiles. I believe that he ascended to heaven where he sits at God’s right hand in power as the mediator for each believer and as Lord over all. I believe that Jesus Christ will come again to judge humanity and to consummate his reign.
I believe in the Holy Spirit who was sent as the promised gift who convicts the world with regard to sin, righteousness and judgment. The Holy Spirit regenerates the believer and then sanctifies the believer by transforming them into the likeness of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit reveals truth through the witness of Scripture to Jesus Christ.
I believe that the church, led by the Spirit, exists to bear witness to Jesus Christ through the preaching of the Word, administration of the sacraments, and serving others.
I believe that the Bible is the written Word of God that bears witness to Jesus Christ. The Bible is inspired and authoritative in all matters of life and faith.
I believe that Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are sacraments that function as both signs and the means of God’s grace toward sinners.
I believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are one God in three distinct personal expressions who are working together for the reconciliation of humanity to God and to one another. This triune God sends the covenant people to be witnesses of the gospel to the world in word and deed.
For many, that statement may seem like theological "machine language" but the content underlies my worldview shaped by Jesus Christ.
1 comment:
thanks for sharing. there is definitely a lot behind each of your statements. were there people at the meeting who were willing to ask those follow-on questions?
i'm always wanting to ask those kind of questions at our presbytery meetings, but so often there's a lot of pressure to just get on with things, and as long as the candidate isn't a heretic, blasphemer, or apostate, we'll move on.
it would be great to engage in some collegial theological exploration at these meetings, but usually it's more about gate-keeping, asking 'gotcha' questions, etc. (that's how I remember my examination in DC, too)
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