What does the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) believe? What are the theological convictions that unite this broad collection of churches? In this episode, Kirk is joined by Greg Strand, executive director of theology and credentialing for the EFCA, to discuss and exposit the EFCA’s Statement of Faith. As we hope you’ll see, this Statement of Faith is an articulation of nothing less than the core elements of gospel itself.
The Christian faith consists of certain beliefs, called doctrines. And theology is the study of doctrine. Theology is important if we are to know God rightly and live in his world accordingly as those he has redeemed. Christopher Morgan’s Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith provides a fantastic and accessible overview of our Christian beliefs.
For a while now, I’ve been on the hunt for a solid, entry-level systematic theology to use with people in my church. We have a wealth of in-depth, academic-level systematic theologies available to us today, especially for those of us in the Reformed tradition. But there’s a notable gap in literature that hits the sweet spot—at least for those of us who are Reformed and Baptist—between those more technical, lengthier works and systematic theologies that are geared to the average person in the pew.
This is partly why I think Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology has been so popular despite its methodological and theological problems. I’ll be honest; I’ve used it with people! It’s accessible, easy to understand, saturated with scripture, and generally takes Reformed positions. In terms of those qualities, it’s ideal for use in the church. But alas, there’s that pesky methodology (Biblicism) along with his odd (Grudem’s view of prophecy) to even straight-up aberrant (eternal subordination of the Son) theological positions at times.
So I’ve long desired a replacement, something that’s equally accessible, readable, scripture saturated, but without the problems of Grudem.
This month’s book recommendation at CrossWay Milwaukee is the New City Catechism, a modern-day catechism that helps teach the essentials of the Christian faith in a helpful question-and-answer format.
Kirk E. Miller 