Sola Power Needed to Ignite Churches
Energy prices and supplies have been a topic of much discussion of late, but it appears the Church may be suffering through an energy crisis of its own. One church is suggesting that the solution may be “sola power.”
This will be the focus on Jan. 9-10, 2009, when Calvin Presbyterian Church (PCA) in North Huntingdon, Pa., an eastern suburb of Pittsburgh, sponsors its third annual Christianity and Culture Conference, entitled “Sola Power: Reformation Theology in a Pluralistic Age.”
Historically, five “Solas” have been central to Reformed thought: Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone); Sola Fide (faith alone); Sola Gratia (grace alone); Sola Christus (Christ alone); and Sola Deo Gloria (glory to God alone). These, according to the Rev. Aaron Garber, pastor of Calvin Pres, are “revolutionizing. They can – and do – have the capacity to turn our world upside down, just as they did in biblical times” (as described in Acts 17:6).
“As churches continually look for the latest ‘tricks’ for growing, there is a tendency to forget these fundamentals of the Gospel,” Garber said. “Churches grow numerically, but are not having the kind of growth they should have.
“The five Solas were revolutionary ideas at the time of the Reformation. With the Church’s focus on them, a lot of amazing things happened.”
Devoting a conference to them, however, is not to revisit church tradition, he pointed out. “We want to remind the church of the essential truths upon which it has been built and reintroduce the same radical and joyful commitment to biblical Christianity that the Protestant reformers dearly treasured.”
The intent is to help followers of Christ learn “how to think more biblically about how to react to and engage the world around them, as well as think about how we as Christians are to live and act in the world.”
At a time when critics accuse of Church of being irrelevant and out of touch, Garber believes a return to the basics – the five Solas – is at least part of the answer.
“By understanding how important each of these are in a real-life sense, we become better equipped for speaking to the issues and problems that face us in our contemporary world.
“Young people today have grown disillusioned with bland, garden-variety Christianity. They are looking for a connection to robust, orthodox, biblical theology – I believe they are actually hungering for these things.”
Dr. Carl R. Trueman, vice president of academic affairs and professor of historical theology and church history at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, will serve as keynote speaker for the conference. He agreed that often churches, in their quest to swell their rolls, have compromised the integrity of the biblical message.
“It would seem evangelicals in America are relatively healthy on the level of sheer numbers. But in terms of theological witness, the picture is somewhat bleaker. We have seen increasing emphasis on technique, growing out of the idea that the church is too boring so we have to compete by making ourselves more interesting. In attempting to engage the culture by soft-pedaling the message, the confrontational dimension of Christianity has been lost. That is why returning to the basics, including the five Solas, is so important.
“Consider Sola Scriptura – Scripture alone – for example. It tells us the Bible is the one supreme revelation of God we have for norming our thinking, values and behavior about God. We are preached at 24/7 by the world around us – TV, movies, newspapers and magazines, commercials, the Internet – trying to convince us that things such as greed, adultery, and homosexuality are ‘normal.’ We need a reality check every day, turning to the Scriptures to remind us of what normal life is supposed to look like.
“Similarly, the world preaches that there are many ways to God, so Sola Christus – Christ alone – is critical to clear Christian thinking. And in America we are regularly told how great we are, how good we are. As we examine Sola Gratia – grace alone – we realize we are nothing except that God makes us something, and it is only by His action, not what we do.
“So there will be a lot of value in looking at each of these Solas of the Reformation in depth. The Gospel is awesome and overwhelming; the message carries its own power and relevance. If you’re not awestruck by it, I’m not sure you really believed it.”
Garber believes the conference has great potential for reigniting the fervor of many believers to manifest the reality of Christ, in action and in word, wherever they go. “If we fall in love again with these truths, we will come to understand the power that rests in them. And it will go a long way in reviving our enthusiasm for the message and mission of Christ.”
For more information and to register for the conference, go to www.calvinpca.org or call, 724-862-1192.
Robert J. Tamasy, a member of North Shore Fellowship in Chattanooga, Tenn., is vice president of communications for Leaders Legacy, Inc., an Atlanta-based ministry to business and professional leaders; author of Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace, and co-author of The Heart of Mentoring with David A. Stoddard.
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