Conversion growth in Presbyterian and Reformed churches is virtually nonexistent. In the opinion of this writer that should, can, and must change. Hence, this call for reformation in the mission of the church. In the last issue I defined the terms “maintenance” and “missional,” and that mission, not missions, is the identity of the church.1 […]

It was the great missionary William Carey who said, “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.” The URCNA appears to be doing little of either. We are a small-minded group of churches. In the opinion of this writer, the reason is fear. Someone once said, “Fear is the beginning of defeat.” Fear […]

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28, King James Version) How healthy is the URCNA? We have been considering two barometers of spiritual health so far—love for […]

“Tradition. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as . . . as a fiddler on the roof.” So said Tevye, the father of five daughters, in the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof, about his attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon the family’s lives. What is orthodusty? It is when the vitality of the faith, the […]

In January of 1993 Christians received a wake-up call at best, a death knell for our society at worst. William Jefferson Clinton was sworn in as President of the United States of America. Within days of his inauguration Christians had a very good idea of what they were in for in the years ahead. The […]

THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM: A STUDY GUIDE by Rev. G. L Williamson, 241 pages includes Scripture Index; P & R Publishing, PO Box 817, Phillipsburg, N.J. 08865. Reviewed by Rev. Paul T Murphy. Rev. G.I. Williamson is perhaps best known for writing the Study Guides for the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Vols. 1 & 2) and the […]

“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women […]

HlSTORY AND PURPOSE Confessing the truth of God’s Word has always been important for those of Reformed persuasion. The Confessions of the Church, be they the Westminster, the Continental, the Second Helvetic others, have functioned to declare God’s truth to the world as witnesses, to preserve it from attackers as soldiers, to pass it on […]

The following article is the beginning of an inspirational message given by the Rev. Paul Murphy at the 2000 Reformed Fellowship Annual Meeting. It is a celebration of the advancement of the Reformed faith. The topic for my lecture this evening is “Like Apples of Gold in Settings of Silver.” That is a citation of […]

[Last month Rev. Murphy looked at the growth and advancements of the Reformed faith in the area of individuals and congregations. This month, Rev. Murphy continues the series by looking at denominations and ministies.] Denominations It used to be said that once a denomination had gone bad, there was no reversing it. As a matter […]