Michael D. Warren
RLGN 489: Ministry Praxis Capstone
Ministry Credo Conclusion Assignment
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Introductory Assignment
I believe what we know today as the Bible is “a collection of reliable historical
documents written by eye-witnesses in the lifetimes of other eye-witnesses that report
supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claim that their
writings are divine rather than of human origin.”1 This Book, although penned by human hands
in different times and places, was dictated by the Spirit of God to be exactly what God desired to
say to His people throughout all human history. While the Bible is worthy of our affections (Psa.
119:97), it is not where our affections end; we must remember that the Bible is what we look
through to see more of God Himself, have a closer relationship with Him, and live in a manner
pleasing to Him. As Towns defends, while we do believe in the authority and inerrancy of
Scripture, we are not bibliolaters; we worship the God of the Bible, not the Bible itself.2
One key text that informs our understanding of the scope and purpose of Scripture is 1
Timothy 3:16-17, in which the Apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and
profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man
of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”3 In short, the Scriptures are God’s
primary means of providing us with all we need to get and stay on the path He wants for us.
Arguably the most important reason we take the Scriptures so seriously as our guide is because
God is Holy. Revelation 15:4 says, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you
alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been
revealed.” Since God is Holy, it ought to humble us that He has not left us to flounder as we
figure out how mankind ought to live.
1 Baucham, Voddie. Why You Can Believe The Bible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1XJ7DeR5fc
11:10 2 Towns, Elmer L. Theology for Today. 65
3 Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version, 2016.
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Genesis 1:27 states, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created
him; male and female he created them,” but Genesis 2:7 adds the detail that God “formed,” as
though with His own hands, mankind. Part of being made in God’s image has to do with the fact
that God’s touch was the first touch mankind ever experienced, which embedded in us a desire
for more than this earth alone can offer. Pastor and author Paul David Tripp writes on the
meaning of being made in God’s image: “Adam and Eve are not just part of the catalog of
creatures that God made. They are above, they are special, and they are christened with a dignity
that separates them from everything else. We must not ever forget this foundational definition of
who human beings are. With these words God names the intrinsic worth of people.”4
Another part of being made in the image of our Triune God is our social nature. While we
can be alone, we were not meant to stay alone (Gen. 2:18). Mankind was made for community,
so God established the institutions of marriage and the church for their good and His glory. In
twenty-first century Western culture, however, technology has complicated human community,
leading some to believe all one needs is online community to be fulfilled. As we have discussed
in our class so far, though, being social online ought to compliment face-to-face relationships, as
Lowe and Lowe summarize: “Online experiences show us that we can give and receive care for
one another, value interpersonal relationships, and interact with one another, thereby creating
connections that form community.”5
Conclusion Assignment
I believe it is necessary to clearly state that I believe God Himself gave us the institution
of what we know as “local churches.” In Ephesians 2:18-22, the Apostle Paul lays out how
4 Tripp, Paul David. Do You Believe?: 12 Historic Doctrines to Change Your Everyday Life, 230.
5 Lowe, Stephen D. and Lowe, Mary E. Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age: Spiritual Growth through Online
Education, 79.
What happens in the process of a church committing themselves to the preaching of the
Word, singing, prayer, fellowship, and giving, such as is described in Acts 2:42, is that every
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believers not only have access to the Father through the work of Christ and the Spirit, but they
are now also “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,” which has
Christ Jesus as the cornerstone in the foundation. Citizens normally live in the same country
together and families normally live in the same house together, so Christians ought to assemble
like citizens of Heaven and the family of God. These churches come together, each member
figuratively representing a part of Christ’s body (1Cor. 12:12-27). Each church is responsible for
its governance, with Christ as its head (Eph. 5:23), mature and trained believers as pastors and
teachers (1Tim. 3:1-8; Titus 2), and every member actively participating within the life of the
church.
There is some significant debate over exactly when the church started, which Towns lists
and explains for us. Some believe the church began with saints in the Od Testament, others
believe John the Baptist’s ministry was the beginning of the church, others believe the ministry
of Jesus Christ or His death and resurrection were the beginning of the church, and still others
believe the church started somewhere in the book of Acts, namely Pentecost.6 In any case, the
church’s mission stays the same, which Bredfeldt summarizes:
The church is fundamentally a teaching-learning organization. Its future depends on the
effectiveness of its leaders and members as they function as both teachers and learners.
Visionary planning is important, mission statements are useful, and purpose-driven
strategies can be invaluable in growing the church numerically, but if, in the process, the
central task of teaching is lost, the church will have paid a steep price for its material
successes. For in the end, the goal is not numerical growth, but mature followers of Jesus
Christ.7
6 Towns, Elmer L. Theology for Today. 656-658.
7 Bredfeldt, Gary. Great Leader, Great Teacher: Recovering the Biblical Vision for Leadership. 16–17
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believer may “grow up into him” (Eph. 4:15), and “be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ (1Thess. 5:23). Pastors and teachers have as their goal presenting every believer
under their care mature in Christ on the last day (Col. 1:28). This process is not always pretty,
believers may backslide and hurt themselves and others, but Jesus promises to finish the good
work in them that He began (Phl. 1:6).
I believe the three most necessary ingredients for spiritual formation in the life of a
Christian is what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well: “God is spirit, and those who
worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jno. 4:24). Recognizing that we are creatures of
worship, directed and intentional worship of the one true God instead of anything or anyone else
is the first ingredient. Secondly, that worship must sincerely come from one’s own spirit, all of
one’s being, seeking the Holy Spirit. And finally, that worship must be guided by the Truth,
which we find in God’s Word, which points to the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. When the
terrified disciples realized the power Jesus had over nature, the Bible says they worshipped, and
the particular form their worship took, at the least, was acknowledging “Truly you are the Son of
God” (Matt. 14:33).
Bibliography
Baucham, Voddie. Why You Can Believe The Bible. Monash University, 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1XJ7DeR5fc
Towns, Elmer L. Theology for Today. Cengage Learning Publications, 2008.
Tripp, Paul David. Do You Believe?: 12 Historic Doctrines to Change Your Everyday Life.
Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021.
Lowe, Stephen D. and Lowe, Mary E. Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age: Spiritual Growth
through Online Education. Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2018.
Bredfeldt, Gary. Great Leader, Great Teacher: Recovering the Biblical Vision for Leadership.
Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2006.
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