 Going Forward by Looking Back: Toward an Evangelical Retrieval of the Great Tradition
The Great Tradition represents that evangelical, apostolic, and catholic core of Christian faith and practice which came largely to fruition from 100-500 AD. Its rich legacy and treasures represent the Church’s confession of what the Church has always believed, the worship that the ancient, undivided Church celebrated and embodied, and the mission that it embraced and undertook.
The Great Tradition can never be used as a substitute for Scriptures, (i.e., the authoritative source of all Christian faith, the Scriptures). Likewise, the Great Traditions cannot displace the living presence of Christ in the Church through the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, it remains authoritative and revitalizing for the people of God, providing God’s people through time a clear confession of the substance of our faith. The Great Tradition has been embraced and affirmed as authoritative by Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Protestant theologians, those ancient and modern, as it has produced the seminal documents, doctrines, confessions, and practices of the Church (e.g., the canon of Scriptures, the doctrines of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, etc.).
Of Whose Spirit Are We? A Primer on Why We Seek to Retrieve the Great Tradition for the City Church
Today, the contemporary evangelical church finds itself situated in an age of postmodernism, civil religion, hedonism, pragmatism, and egocentrism, all of which (to some degree) have influenced the worship and service of the body of Christ. These challenges call for a new discovery and reappropriation of the faith once for all delivered to the people of God. To meet these threats and to take advantage of our present opportunities, we must be transformed by the faith once for all delivered to the saints. Read more on how we can begin!
There Is a River: Identifying the Streams of a Revitalized, Authentic Christian Community in the City
A tabular document that outlines what we believe are the key tributaries of renewing an authentic expression of the historic orthodox faith in the city, the kind that can revitalize and regenerate urban Christian community. Built upon the elements of the Church confessed in the Nicene Creed.
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