Why I Am A Presbyterian: Introduction

I don't really make New Year's Resolutions because I hate making promises I won't/can't keep. This endeavor to write a six-part blog post series on this topic is about as close as I come. I may not complete it. It may be unrealistic for me, like Sufjan Stevens' Fifty States Project. But I will try.

The impulse for writing about this comes from my new internship at Cahaba Park Church, a member of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). I have wrestled pretty thoroughly with the decision to pursue ordination in a particular denomination. My first semester at inter-denomination Beeson Divinity School has more firmly anchored me to the Presbyterian tradition. Though a few hesitancies are still present (and maybe I will endeavor to write of them after I finish the reasons why), they have been overcome by the things I love about the Presbyterian Church. Of these things, I write from a personal perspective. I am not saying everyone should be Presbyterian; neither am I elevating denominational differences above Christian unity. I am certainly not against other denominations; I am all for inter-denominational unity. I am simply explaining my decision to be a part of the Presbyterian Church in America. Some of my doctrinal reasons are matters of interpretation and the worship practices are mostly preferential. So I write partially for myself and partially for the reader to consider a different view. I think it is important to know what one's church believes and why.

The six-part series, not in order of significance necessarily, I hope to complete is as follows:

I. The Value of Liturgy

II. Covenant Theology

III. Reformed Tradition

IV. Church Government

V. The Lord's Supper

VI. Paedobaptism

Stay tuned...