We had wonderful time down at Boardwalk Chapel on Monday (more coming soon).

I slept over to stop by at the OPC headquarter: to see our elder Rev. Dick Gerber (I liked when Rev. Shishko emphasized “house visitations” during MTIOPC: that’s how we are supposed to pastor our flock). When you can visualize the place, it’s easier to pray for them as well. So I went to WTS first. And on to Willow Grove, PA (about 15 min from WTS). And found the place. Click for larger images

We prepared gifts for Pastor Gerber’s grand-daughter but she was at the office!

He was packing some stuff for a week long (yes one week!) General Assembly (hence, polo shirt).

Anyway, I got to see the whole place. Met Mrs. Tipton (for the first time) and few others. Most of men had already left for G.A. so couldn’t see them.

I am thankful for OPC and our elders.

Hello, this is Adam, the intern.

In recent light of being accepted into the OPC, I thought it would be good for our church (and whoever else who reads our church blog) to know what Presbyterianism really is about, at least on the basic level. It’s also good to see how Presbyterianism is set apart from other denominations.

Presbyterianism comes from the word, “presbyter,” which means elder. Presbyterianism has its roots in the Reformed tradition, following the footsteps of John Calvin from the Reformation era. We believe that the Bible is the authority of God, spoken by him, inspired (means through the Holy Spirit) to write by those who wrote the Bible. We also believe and uphold the Westminster Confession of Faith, signed in 1646.

In America, there are many different Presbyterian denominations that branch out  from the original. The most common denomination that you would see everywhere is the PCA (Presbyterian Church of America). We, the New Song Church, are in the process of joining the OPC (Orthodox Presbyterian Church). The OPC started to mainly defend the Biblical truths from modernism and liberalism, which are very prevalent in much of today’s churches.

Last Saturday, during the OPC presbytery meeting I got a taste of what’s in the Book of Church Order. All Presbyterian churches follow the book for guidance and laws concerning how a church operates. In a Presbyterian church, Ruling Elders are those who operate concerning all matters church-related, like missions, finances, discipline, etc. Teaching Elders (or Pastor, in our case) are those who teach the word (sermon) and practice sacraments (baptism and communion).

-This practice of sacraments, namely, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, is what sets us apart from other denominations. For example, we Presbyterians practice infant baptism (called paedo-baptism) while Baptist churches do not. We also do not encourage those who are not baptized (those who have not confessed that Jesus Christ one’s Lord and Savior publically through baptism)  to take part in the Lord’s Supper until they are baptized in a church.  That’s one example.

-Another is concerning the election of saints. We believe that the elect will go to heaven, while the rest will not. There are churches that do not believe in eternal damnation (i.e. hell) to those who do not believe and confess their faith in Christ.

-We follow the 5 Points of Calvinism (Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints), as opposed to the 5 Points of Arminianism (I don’t want to get too into this, but it has to do with we are able to receive grace on our own, as opposed to as a gift from God).

To sum it up, what sets Presbyterianism apart from other denominations is the elder-ship within the church, and the practice of the two sacraments. It gets a lot deeper than that, but that’s something a seminary student should be dealing with. This basic knowledge, I believe, is enough for the everyday Christians and non-Christians alike.