Redeemed sinner; @fairgroover’s hubby; dad of 6; pastor of Waterville Baptist Church; missionary @hoperestoredNB; trying to manage it all!
Woodstock, New Brunswick
Joined October 2010
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We’ve started a newsletter for our new ministry project in New Brunswick! Here’s the first issue, a brief glimpse at what’s been happening with us as we prepare to move:
mailchi.mp/b14c11492a1f/two-…
Jeff Jones retweeted
Republicans got blown out because of the tariffs.
People will make a million other excuses, but it was, in fact, the tariffs.
Jeff Jones retweeted
Anyone can cut down a tree with a sharp axe, but only an exceptionally strong man can cut down a tree with a dull axe. When God uses the dull axe of human preachers to chop down the trees of sin and unbelief, His glory is doubled. It proves the incomparable strength of his arm. - Joel James
Jeff Jones retweeted
Yesterday was Elijah pouring water on the altar.
It's God's rebuke to all who think He can't build His church unless the right politicians are in power. It's Him removing idols.
Jesus is Lord, not Donald Trump, and He doesn't need Caesar. His power is made perfect in weakness.
This, 100%. No Christian should ever underestimate the evangelistic power and pastoral value of a visibly settled and calm hope in the face of fear.
Jeff Jones retweeted
'It was very important to me 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙗𝙚 “𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙” and that the “Baptist” part was just a variation within the overall reformed tradition.'
I would like to posit that this thinking developed as a result of the increased interest in Reformed theology in the 1960s, which eventually gave rise to the descriptor of "Reformed Baptist". Whereas, historically, I believe our tradition developed to particularly view ourselves as "Particular Baptists" (UK centric) within the broader shared Reformed/Calvinistic stream.
The loss of "Particular Baptist" or similar historic descriptors as a real identifier of a concrete denomination of Christians in many of our churches (not just a title adopted by those interested in church history), combined with the placement of being "Reformed" at the forefront of our identity and the added emphasis placed on Reformed and Presbyterian divines, to the neglect of our own history and divines has given rise to this default inclination and mindset.
Jeff Jones retweeted
My prediction for election night:
President Trump will learn no lessons from this.
Jeff Jones retweeted
I have great respect for Dr. Carter. But as per usual with this kind of move, his critique of Baptist confessionalism and worship does not engage the best of our tradition.
My church is living proof that what he is seeking is possible as a Baptist.
And the fractious nature of presbyterianism—even in and around the PCA—is living proof that it's actually congregationalism all the way down. Every time someone changes traditions, or a church "realigns" with another denomination, the point is proved again and again.
Popular sovereignty (congregationalism) is a natural law. Read Althusius.
Jeff Jones retweeted
This is very well put by @colinsmo.
Whenever a Baptist feels the pull toward Presbyterian polity as the remedy for the chaos and “tomfoolery” of SBC life and/or corporate worship styles, I am quick to note—with genuine respect for the polity and convictions of my brothers in the PCA and OPC—that those very denominations exist precisely because Presbyterianism is no silver bullet. The PCA and OPC were born out of earlier Presbyterian bodies that had already failed to protect confessional integrity, and their General Assemblies today frequently function as mirror images of the SBC annual meeting: prolonged floor fights, contested interpretations of confessional standards, competing cultural and ecclesiastical visions, and the same underlying reality of popular sovereignty working its way through the system.
What makes either polity structure "healthy" is the spiritual vitality of the people inhabiting them. It is congregationalism all the way down. Every realignment, every departure over Side B, Keller-influenced megachurch methods, Christian nationalism, or some other contested question, re-proves the point. Polity can constrain and channel disagreement, but it cannot abolish the fact that churches and denominations remain associations of free people who retain the capacity to dissent, exit, or reorganize.
The difference is largely one of venue and procedural form, not of substance. Popular sovereignty, as Althusius and the broader Reformed tradition understood it, is not an accidental feature of congregationalism; it is a natural law of human association that reappears under every form of church government.
I have great respect for Dr. Carter. But as per usual with this kind of move, his critique of Baptist confessionalism and worship does not engage the best of our tradition.
My church is living proof that what he is seeking is possible as a Baptist.
And the fractious nature of presbyterianism—even in and around the PCA—is living proof that it's actually congregationalism all the way down. Every time someone changes traditions, or a church "realigns" with another denomination, the point is proved again and again.
Popular sovereignty (congregationalism) is a natural law. Read Althusius.
Jeff Jones retweeted
The Baptist churches, whether in England or in America, are certainly to be regarded as branches of the Reformed movement.
—Richard Muller
Jeff Jones retweeted
The deepest root of catholicity is the apostolic witness in the NT. And I remain convinced that infant baptism and institutional connectionalism are no where to be found there.
Praying for our neighbors to the south as they vote today, especially my brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray God gives them wisdom; they are going to need it.
Equally relevant to Canadian military nomenclature. We have the Royal Canadian Navy and Air Force, not a “Royal Canadian Army.” However, many of the Army’s regiments have “Royal” designations (I was an officer in the Royal Canadian Artillery, for instance)
Some Constitutional history:
The British Army isn’t called Royal because it is raised by Parlement (rather than by the crown, though it swears loyalty to the crown).
Continental monarchies tended to have royal armies, established and funded separate from parlement.
This is considered a key factor in the development of British liberties. It’s the Royal Navy and parlement’s British Army because an army maintains the state’s monopoly on violence (aka they can suppress uprisings).
Jeff Jones retweeted
Don’t apologize for being a Baptist.
Don’t overreact to our weaknesses, and don’t assume other traditions are obviously smarter or deeper.
Baptists have a rich heritage from both the whole Christian tradition and our Baptist history—and they’re readily available to study.
Jeff Jones retweeted
Just a reminder: NO Youth or Kids Club tonight, as there's no school today. See you all next week!
Jeff Jones retweeted
Firm up the foundations of your faith with us! This week, we continue looking at baptism; this time, to avoid misunderstandings, what does it not do?
