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CTF 2025: Why This Conference?

Unknown · 2025-01-04 · 476 words · 3 min

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Summary

Other

A chapter-by-chapter confessional conference is a fitting means of rallying pastors and laypeople around the doctrines most surely believed among Reformed Baptists and of faithfully transmitting the received theological heritage.

This recorded conversation introduces a Reformed Baptist theological conference structured around a chapter-by-chapter study of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. The speakers explain that the conference was conceived to promote edification among pastors and laypeople alike by gathering around the central doctrines summarized in the confession. The format draws on the pattern of a long-running Southern California Reformed Baptist conference that worked through confession chapters progressively over successive years. The vision is explicitly confessional: to equip God's people to know what Scripture teaches and to receive faithfully the theological heritage passed down through the Reformed Baptist tradition.

Key quotes

We thought a conference was a good way to promote that fellowship, to rally around central doctrines of the Christian faith, which is what the 1689 basically is — a summary of those chief things that Christians ought to believe.
We want to be faithful to the biblical conclusions of that received theological heritage and to educate our people, and just to rally around those truths most surely believed among us.
The idea was to gather together primarily Southern California Reformed Baptist pastors but also pastors from outside the Reformed Baptist tradition, and also lay people to attend and to take in theological discourse.

Applications

  1. Attend the conference as a means of knowing more fully what Scripture teaches and what the Reformed Baptist confessional tradition confesses.
  2. Rally around the doctrines most surely believed among us rather than treating confessional theology as secondary to congregational life.
  3. Receive the Reformed Baptist theological heritage as a gift and commit to passing it on faithfully to the next generation.

Questions this sermon answers

Why was this Reformed Baptist conference started?

The conference was started to promote the edification of pastors and laypeople by studying the central doctrines of the Christian faith as summarized in the 1689 London Baptist Confession, taking one chapter per year.

What confession does the conference study?

The conference works through the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith chapter by chapter, noting its significant overlap with the Westminster Confession, the Savoy Declaration, and the Belgic Confession.

Is the conference only for pastors?

No — the conference invites both pastors and laypeople, including consistory members and the people of God generally, to participate in the theological study together.

[Music] so we're

Conference Introduction

discussing the conference coming up in the end of April for chapter 2 of our confession I I should say our shared confessions between the Westminster the savoo and our Baptist confession of 1689 the second London um with significant overlap to the belgic in terms of the theories and Concepts a bit of a summary here a few questions and points to talk about so in the first one the purpose of the confession um sorry the purpose of the conference why did we start the conference uh what do we intend to achieve with the conference what's the vision behind it um over to you okay well

Purpose of the Conference

we started the conference as a means to promote edification of the Saints and specifically we invite pastors and Layman and consist members and the people of God in general uh to study those things most surely believed Among Us so that's kind of a subtitle or at least it's been a appended to our our confession of faith and we thought that a conference was a a good way to promote that Fellowship to Rally around central doctrines of the Christian faith which is what the 1689 basically is a summary of those Chief things that Christians ought to believe and we thought it would be helpful to just take a Chapter per year and to invite some men that are specifically competent in those fields or areas to be that means of of educating the people of God so that we can know better what scripture teaches and know what our our Christian tradition teaches as [Music] well I believe there was

California Conference Background

a California Conference that was similar that kicked off 11 or 12 12 years ago um can you speak to your experience with that if any and and how that's translated into our conference MH go ahead yeah well um

Pattern and Heritage

a very similar format as uh as Jim just mentioned um the idea there was to to gather together um primarily uh Southern California Reformed Baptist uh pastors but also pastors from outside the you know the Reformed Baptist tradition uh and also you know lay people to to attend and to take in um theological discourse lectures presentations around a chapter of a confession progressively like the like the conference that uh that we're doing so yeah it sort of served as a foundational pattern um you know with that with that General collegial Spirit but also with an emphasis upon the fact that we are the you know the the the inheritors of a received theological heritage um and we want to be uh faithful to the biblical conclusions of that received theological Heritage and to educate our our people and just to Rally around as as Jim mentioned those truths most surely believ to Among Us excellent

Study notes

Confessions & catechisms

  • 1689 LBCF 2
  • Belgic Confession 2
  • Westminster Confession 2

Theological terms

  • Confession of Faith×3
  • Edification
  • Received Theological Heritage×2