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"May I see your doctrinal statement, please?"
Posted by Brian
on
9:25 PM
I've had the pleasure of showing a team from Bethel Baptist Church in Strathroy around for the past few days. They are traveling through the DR looking for ministry opportunities, especially among the Haitian community.
This morning we met with Pastor Chery, a young Haitian man who is leading a new congregation. They are meeting in the shell of a house they had hoped to purchase one day, but it is in the process of being sold out from under them. They meet several times a week, and on Saturday mornings Pastor Chery leads a class for children in the community. He has several years of Bible school training, but must work in a local resort to pay his bills. He receives no income from the church.
Pastor Tom Hunt asked him for a doctrinal statement, simply wanting to find out what his theology was like. A fair question these days.
Pastor Chery reached for a Bible, opened it to James 1:27, and passed it to Tom. "That is my belief", he said.
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
He had never been asked to produce a doctrinal statement before, something that we North Americans practically carry with us in our wallets. It's how we tell the sheep from the goats, the liberals from the conservatives. Pastor Chery likes things cut and dry, and in his world, this is a statement that makes sense and defines his beliefs.
That was good enough for us.
Click here for info on helping Pastor Chery and his church
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This morning we met with Pastor Chery, a young Haitian man who is leading a new congregation. They are meeting in the shell of a house they had hoped to purchase one day, but it is in the process of being sold out from under them. They meet several times a week, and on Saturday mornings Pastor Chery leads a class for children in the community. He has several years of Bible school training, but must work in a local resort to pay his bills. He receives no income from the church.Pastor Tom Hunt asked him for a doctrinal statement, simply wanting to find out what his theology was like. A fair question these days.
Pastor Chery reached for a Bible, opened it to James 1:27, and passed it to Tom. "That is my belief", he said.
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
He had never been asked to produce a doctrinal statement before, something that we North Americans practically carry with us in our wallets. It's how we tell the sheep from the goats, the liberals from the conservatives. Pastor Chery likes things cut and dry, and in his world, this is a statement that makes sense and defines his beliefs.
That was good enough for us.
Click here for info on helping Pastor Chery and his church
|
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