The Beginning

As I stated in my previous post, we are going to go on an expedition with God to see how what we believe matters and how it determines the ways by which go on mission. Any good expedition requires the right provisions.

So what are our provisions?

I think we must start with a brief discussion of my own presuppositions. The reality is that none of us are 'objective'. We all have passions, history, frameworks, and a lens through which we evaluate things.

I think that my presuppositions would include some of these frameworks:

1. I am a male, anglo, middle-class, American, with a graduate level education. I am married, I have children (a boy and a girl). I come from a broken home, the oldest of three sons.


2. I am Presbyterian in polity and Reformed in dogma. I do think that the Westminster provides us with one of the best frameworks for systematic theology. However, I am growing weary with systematic theology as much of it seems to be disconnected from biblical theology and has slipped into proof-texting.


3. I grew up church-going in a mainline church. I did not begin living the Christian life until June 1995.  My foundational understanding of how to be a Christian comes from the teaching of Campus Crusade for Christ.


4. My ecclesiology was shaped through the ministry philosophy of Campus Crusade for Christ and over the last six years has been largely influenced by a mix of Reformed writers and missional church writers. Therefore, I reject the attractional model of 'church growth'. It seems to me that the church joining in with God on mission is attractive, so much so, that we don't need lights, fog machines, or super-stars.


5. I think that the church is responsible for transformation and the cultural mandate of Genesis 1.


6. I am not post-modern.  I am not modern.  My epistemology is a bit convoluted, I'm working it out, bear with me.


7. I think that the Bible is authoritative and without error in its original manuscripts.  There are plenty of other venues to discuss this one, it's my presupposition. You can presuppose otherwise, but I am not going to spend time defending this.

I reserve the right to edit this list as more comes out in my writing.