Completely agree with everything said in this, but man what crazy timing to release the episode the same week as these fires. It's a good thing you don't pretend to be unconcerned with governance there.
CA is blessed with a plethora of faithful URCNA churches. The URCNA exiles from CA to TX have no URCNA to attend because the URCNA hasn't bothered to plant even one church here. Your "joke" about the people leaving CA URCNA churches to TX -- that they might be the kind of people you want to leave -- was not funny. There are 5 families around me right now praying for the URCNA to look beyond the mecca of WSC and Southern CA and into our wasteland. One family was formerly from Chris's church. (SOLID family). One from Dan's church. (SOLID family). All 5 families are solid Reformed URCNA and faithful. So, we wait. We live in exile as weary sojourners. We feel alone while southern CA has more URCNAs than we could ever hope for. We pray graduates of WSC will want to come to Texas to find us and minister to God's flock here. We pray they will want to be there for all of the Baptists who are trying to become Reformed with no guidance! We (and they) are here! We see CA folk laugh and pat themselves on themselves on the back for surviving living in CA -- all the while making jokes about Texans, telling them they should move out of state to find an URCNA or other faithful NAPARC church. So, we settle for the least offensive Baptist church or a MO Synod Lutheran church. Here's what Escondido and the URCNA mission committee doesn't understand. MANY Baptists here want to be reformed! I'm amazed! They have tasted reformed theology online, but have not experienced the beauty of our worship as of yet. However, the only presence here that claims to be reformed is CREC. (CREC is huge here). We have a tiny few OPC's and PCA's, but they are in big cities where people here don't want to live. People prefer to live on the outskirts of cities here -- on purpose. These hopeful reformed-looking Baptists don't have their theology grounded yet to know that CREC isn't safe, so now they are prey to become further theologically-confused while embracing CREC just because it is "reformed." It is my prayer that the URCNA and its mission committee would look beyond California and Escondido in regard to church planting. The battle is not just in CA. WSC graduates need to look beyond WSC into states like ours without URCNAs. Texas is a huge state of people with millions who already love the Lord. They need solid URCNA churches. I would ask both of you to think deeper about what a wasteland is or could be. You can live in a state like Texas - have thousands of churches around you -- but you are unable to find the kind of church (URCNA) that we know could thrive here. We are here and we hunger and thirst for a solid URCNA. Our wasteland is different than California - but it is still a wasteland. Perspective and reality matters, Chris and Dan. We can't just pick up and move to CA. We have families. We have jobs. Some of us are older and have to be near kids for future care. And....we are solidly reformed, URCNA style. Please be compassionate for those of us in Texas who live in the land of confused evangelicals and Baptists falling prey to CREC. 3 CREC churches around my location, and 3 Baptist churches migrating to CREC in my area alone. These Baptist churches desire to be Reformed, but CREC is their only choice to partner with? Imagine the disappointment these CREC folk are going to face when they realize all the things we understand about CREC that are wrong. This will hurt the Reformed faith, in general. We have always been taught in the URCNA that the church is for believers -- that non-believers can attend, but we don't cater to non-believers. Worship is for the people of God. How about the URCNA remembering those members of God's flock who wander without a church because the URCNA seems to focus on church plants around its seminary? I'm sorry to have to deliver this spanking -- truly. I am grateful to both of you. I mean this wholeheartedly. But this is the 2nd time a joke has been made about this kind of thing. It is hurtful to people who are already suffering from having to simply survive in the land of Baptists.
Thankful for the work Reformed ministers are doing in California. Praying for mercy and repentance for LA especially right now!
As a Christian living in California, I needed to hear this. Thank you,
Completely agree with everything said in this, but man what crazy timing to release the episode the same week as these fires. It's a good thing you don't pretend to be unconcerned with governance there.
Did Jonah preach the Gospel or the Law?
What bible do you use?
ESV
CA is blessed with a plethora of faithful URCNA churches. The URCNA exiles from CA to TX have no URCNA to attend because the URCNA hasn't bothered to plant even one church here. Your "joke" about the people leaving CA URCNA churches to TX -- that they might be the kind of people you want to leave -- was not funny. There are 5 families around me right now praying for the URCNA to look beyond the mecca of WSC and Southern CA and into our wasteland. One family was formerly from Chris's church. (SOLID family). One from Dan's church. (SOLID family). All 5 families are solid Reformed URCNA and faithful.
So, we wait. We live in exile as weary sojourners. We feel alone while southern CA has more URCNAs than we could ever hope for. We pray graduates of WSC will want to come to Texas to find us and minister to God's flock here. We pray they will want to be there for all of the Baptists who are trying to become Reformed with no guidance! We (and they) are here! We see CA folk laugh and pat themselves on themselves on the back for surviving living in CA -- all the while making jokes about Texans, telling them they should move out of state to find an URCNA or other faithful NAPARC church.
So, we settle for the least offensive Baptist church or a MO Synod Lutheran church.
Here's what Escondido and the URCNA mission committee doesn't understand. MANY Baptists here want to be reformed! I'm amazed! They have tasted reformed theology online, but have not experienced the beauty of our worship as of yet. However, the only presence here that claims to be reformed is CREC. (CREC is huge here). We have a tiny few OPC's and PCA's, but they are in big cities where people here don't want to live. People prefer to live on the outskirts of cities here -- on purpose. These hopeful reformed-looking Baptists don't have their theology grounded yet to know that CREC isn't safe, so now they are prey to become further theologically-confused while embracing CREC just because it is "reformed."
It is my prayer that the URCNA and its mission committee would look beyond California and Escondido in regard to church planting. The battle is not just in CA. WSC graduates need to look beyond WSC into states like ours without URCNAs. Texas is a huge state of people with millions who already love the Lord. They need solid URCNA churches.
I would ask both of you to think deeper about what a wasteland is or could be. You can live in a state like Texas - have thousands of churches around you -- but you are unable to find the kind of church (URCNA) that we know could thrive here. We are here and we hunger and thirst for a solid URCNA. Our wasteland is different than California - but it is still a wasteland.
Perspective and reality matters, Chris and Dan. We can't just pick up and move to CA. We have families. We have jobs. Some of us are older and have to be near kids for future care. And....we are solidly reformed, URCNA style. Please be compassionate for those of us in Texas who live in the land of confused evangelicals and Baptists falling prey to CREC. 3 CREC churches around my location, and 3 Baptist churches migrating to CREC in my area alone. These Baptist churches desire to be Reformed, but CREC is their only choice to partner with? Imagine the disappointment these CREC folk are going to face when they realize all the things we understand about CREC that are wrong. This will hurt the Reformed faith, in general.
We have always been taught in the URCNA that the church is for believers -- that non-believers can attend, but we don't cater to non-believers. Worship is for the people of God. How about the URCNA remembering those members of God's flock who wander without a church because the URCNA seems to focus on church plants around its seminary?
I'm sorry to have to deliver this spanking -- truly. I am grateful to both of you. I mean this wholeheartedly. But this is the 2nd time a joke has been made about this kind of thing. It is hurtful to people who are already suffering from having to simply survive in the land of Baptists.