VEILING "REFORMED"

There is truly a joy in knowing that more African-Americans are heading towards the Reformed faith day by day. For example, I was talking with Pastor Armstrong at Glendale Baptist Church in Miami the other day, and he told me of the rapid increase (compared to last year) of attendees for the upcoming Miami Pastor's Conference in November. Equally, there is a joy in knowing that our people are not only getting properly instructed in these truths, but also that there is an excitement of the things that they are learning.

This last situation is currently happening at my church, and last week I had the privilege of discussing this rapid excitement with a friend and fellow minister who serves with me. In asking him why does he think that the Reformed faith is having such a positive effect on the congregation, he replied in an interesting manner saying, "Well first of all, we have never used the term 'Reformed' to express the type of teaching in the church".

And the reason this reply was interesting to me is because I am finding more and more people teaching the Reformed faith who are purposely leaving out the terms "Reformed" or "Calvinism" in the presentation of their instruction . Now this begs an interesting question: Should Reformed African-American pastors and teachers avoid using these terms and focus more on the theology promoted?

I believe there are good reasons on both sides. For instance, I have ran into some African-American Christians who don't even know what the term "Reformed" means, even though some can give you proper explanation of the doctrines. But to ask them if they know these truths as "Reformed" would generate a puzzled look on their faces. Equally, given the false info that is out there about Reformed theology and Calvinism, many have steered away from using these terms because they don't want to people to be drawn away by pre-conceived opinions. But on the flipside, many say that it is important to use this term in order to explain its differences from other theologies and beliefs (such as Pentecostalism, Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Hebrew Israelite, etc.). Equally, many (myself included) has used the term to give the people being taught a thorough understanding of God's Word and the history of the doctrines it promotes. For example, I not only find it important to teach people about the Trinity, Christology, justification, sanctification, adoption, etc., but to also show them how the early church developed and defined these terms (in regards to what was accepted as Orthodox and what was heresy), and how the Reformers later recovered these truths in attempt to establish the church back to its apostolic doctrinal roots. In short, I use the term "Reformed" to emphasize the biblical and historical accuracy of the doctrines I believe and teach.

But whatever your take on this issue, we can take joy in one thing: The truths within this theology are truly revolutionalizing the African-American Community. For instance, in my jail ministry, men are becoming more loving and embracive to the LORD Jesus Christ when the Spirit of God makes known to them God's Sovereignty over their salvation, and Christ's shed blood on behalf of their sins. And, in the final analysis, this is what really matters and is pleasing to our LORD.