Foundation for Reformed Theology

Buy this book by my friend and colleague, Dr. Richard E. Burnett, and read it from cover to cover! Dr. James C. Goodloe IV

New Biography The first critical biography of J. Gresham Machen, examining the full arc of his intellectual career J. Gresham Machen is known as a conservative hero of the...

Richard A. Ray, Presbyterian minister, theologian, teacher, and churchman, died on Wednesday, April 10, at the age of eighty-eight. He was a distinguished preacher, pastor, college and seminary professor, author, administrator, and leader who poured himself out for the sake of Jesus Christ and his church.

Dick was born in New Orleans, grew up in Louisiana, Florida, and Georgia, and was a Boy Scout, earning the rank of Eagle. He earned his B.A. in Philosophy at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. While serving as a lifeguard and camp counselor in Montreat, North Carolina, he met Lila McGeachy in 1958 and married her the next year. He earned his B.D. at Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia, and his Ph.D. in Philosophical Theology at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

He served pastorates in Arkansas, Virginia, and Tennessee. For several years he was the managing director and acquisitions editor of John Knox Press, where he worked closely with many authors, bringing their books not merely to print, but to life.

He served as a professor of Bible and Religion at Stevens College, an adjunct professor at King College, a professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and President of King University, Bristol, Tennessee.

As a pastor, he served as the Moderator of Holston Presbytery and was on the Board of Directors for the Bristol Regional Hospital. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Grandfather Home for Children, Banner Elk, North Carolina. He served two terms on the Presbyterian Foundation Board and was Chairman of the Presbyterian Outlook. In addition, he was editor of Kerygma Bible Studies, and was a consultant for Presbyterians for Renewal. After moving to Montreat, North Carolina, he was a founder and Chairman of the Board of the Presbyterian Heritage Center.

Dick served on the Board of Reference of Theology Matters and wrote articles for the journal: “When Theology Burns" (Winter 2018); “John Calvin on Theatrical Trifles in Worship" (Summer 2019); “The Feast of Many Memories" (Fall 2020); “Theological Mystery of Words" (Winter 2021); “An Invitation to Combat" (Spring 2022); and “Encouragement for the Journey" (Summer 2023).

Trained as a philosophical theologian, Dick had a deep grasp of classical, medieval, and modern philosophy. He was also an astute and discerning historical and doctrinal theologian, and an expert in Reformation studies, the history of the Reformed tradition, especially the theology of John Calvin.

In his latter decades, he focused on the church fathers, namely, the writings of Athanasius, Augustine, Origen, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus, Hilary of Poitiers, the Desert Fathers, et al. Specifically, he focused on the doctrine of the Trinity. “The doctrine of the Trinity,” he claimed, “is greater, more mysterious than all the billions of galaxies in this universe. It is more powerful and intellectually stimulating than anything in this world."

He was a gifted teacher, lecturer, church leader, speaker, and administrator. He was, above all, a dedicated and caring shepherd who helped thousands of people throughout his ministry. He also advised, counseled, and encouraged hundreds of pastors, especially members of the Foundation for Reformed Theology. In their home, Lila and he showed warm and gracious hospitality to dozens of pastors and their families every year for many years.

Dick was a prodigious reader, a highly skilled and perceptive listener, and a deeply engaging conversationalist with a broad range of intellectual, artistic, and cultural interests. Yet, as one Foundation seminar leader, John Burgess, reflects: "I know of no other person who was so theologically focused. He brought every conversation back to God."

One of the most skilled, loyal, and wise churchman of his generation, Dick was, above all, a dedicated minister of the Word of God. His love and commitment to Jesus Christ and his church were manifest throughout his life. And his deep love and concern for his own church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), he expressed to his dying days. He kept the faith, fulfilled his ordination vows, and served the people "with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love."

He was a devoted and much loved husband, father, and grandfather. He is survived by Lila, his wife of sixty-four years, his three children, English, Rod, and Alison, and their spouses, and their eight grandchildren.

He was an extraordinarily selfless, humble, modest, patient, passionate, loving, joyful servant of the Lord. He was to many a beloved coach, mentor, and friend, who was an awful lot of fun to be around. We will all miss him deeply, but we thank God for the great gift of his life and the privilege of having known him.

A service in memory for Richard Ray for the glory of God will be held on Monday, April 22 at 10:00 am at Anderson Auditorium in Montreat, North Carolina. There will be a reception to follow in the Anderson lobby.

Like Thunder Follows Lightning

Dear Friend of The Foundation for Reformed Theology:

Gratitude for the grace of God in Jesus Christ, according to John Calvin, is the essence of the Christian life. It is what motivates, drives, and animates the life of a Christian.

Karl Barth writes, "Gratitude follows grace like thunder follows lightning." When you and I recognize God’s grace in our lives or in this world we will respond spontaneously with gratitude. This is what Christians do. We express our gratitude.

Barth continues: "Radically and basically all sin is simply ingratitude––man's refusal of the one but necessary thing which is proper to and is required of him with whom God has graciously entered into covenant. As far as man is concerned there can be no question of anything but gratitude" (Church Dogmatics IV/1:41–42).

Many Christians and many churches today, however, suffer from a lack of gratitude. Why? In Crisis in the Church: The Plight of Theological Education, John Leith cites one reason: “Loss of tradition leads to loss of gratitude. Those who do not remember cannot be thankful for all that is bequeathed to them.” Dr. Leith adds: “Every church building stands because of the labors of ministers and church members, sometimes at great sacrifice, sometimes at great risk, demanding courage, and sometimes with great vision among people with little vision. Congregations do not just happen.”

Congregations need help in remembering all that has been bequeathed to them. So do their leaders. They need encouragement, insight, wisdom, and vision. They need good theology. Above all, they need help in remembering who God is, what he has done, and is doing. That is why the Foundation for Reformed Theology exists.

Since 1982, the Foundation has sought to provide encouragement, insight, wisdom, and vision for congregational leaders. It has sought to remind them of their theological inheritance. Above all, it has sought to remind them of who God is, what he has done, and is doing.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you … because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (1:3-5). So, on behalf of the Board of the Foundation for Reformed Theology, I wish to express our gratitude to you for your support of this ministry.

Yet please note how Paul continues: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (v.6).

Friends, we need your help to continue the “good work” the Foundation for Reformed Theology has begun and to “bring it to completion at the day of Christ.”

If you have been blessed by the Foundation for Reformed Theology, directly or indirectly, or you want others to be blessed by its work, please express your gratitude. Please make your gift today. And please know how grateful we are for you and for your support of this ministry.

Sincerely,

Richard E. Burnett

The Foundation for Reformed Theology exists to support pastors in their work of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. In so doing, we seek to encourage them in their ministries, strengthening them through the reading and reflecting upon classic texts found in Reformed theology. To support this effort, I invite you to make a gift to the Foundation for Reformed Theology. You may do so online at: https://foundationrt.org/donate/ or by sending your donation to Foundation for Reformed Theology, P.O. Box 50026, Greenwood, SC 29649

Donate – Foundation for Reformed Theology Donate If you would like to donate online, click button below to be transferred to the Presbyterian Foundation for secure payment: If you would like to donate online, click button below to be transferred to PayPal for secure payment: If you would like to donate by check, please write it to “Founda...

Why the Protestant Reformation?

Dear Friends of The Foundation for Reformed Theology:

What gave rise to the Protestant Reformation? Several theories have been advanced. Some claim the main reason it arose was political: a consequence of the transition from a feudal society to the rise of the modern state. Some claim the reason was economic: a result of the transition from serfdom to the rise of a middle class. Others claim the reason was educational: a result of northern renaissance humanism, i.e., the “new learning.” Still others claim the reason was technological: Gutenberg’s printing press.

The latter explanation remains popular among many American Protestants. It tends to portray Luther and his writings as a “media event.” It suggests that the Reformation was successful because of better advertising, better branding, better marketers, and better slogans. It suggests that Luther’s writings were popular because people didn’t have anything better to read.

Yet Gutenberg’s press published The Travels of Marco Polo in 1477 and it became a blockbuster hit (inspiring Columbus and many others). And since printing indulgences for Rome was one of the earliest and most lucrative commercial purposes for which Gutenberg used his press, it is possible that technology did as much to thwart the teachings of the Reformation as to promote them. It certainly gave the Reformers plenty to overcome. So, for those today hoping that technology will somehow save us, perhaps there is a lesson here.

To be sure, faithful souls in the sixteenth century used the latest technology effectively to promote the teachings of the Protestant Reformation. And so should we. And to be sure, political, economic, educational, and technological influences played a role in the rise of the Protestant Reformation. But do these influences adequately account for it?

“Perhaps the most significant development in late medieval Christianity was the rise of devotionalism. In the last centuries of the Middle Ages, devotions of all kinds flourished in unprecedented profusion: pilgrimages, veneration of relics, Marian devotions, meditations on the passion of Christ, penitential exercises, and more,” according to Richard Kieckhefer, including “the development of the Rosary” and “the Stations of the Cross.” This is the world in which Luther and Calvin grew up. It is why Calvin said that up until his conversion he was “firmly addicted to papal superstitions.”

According to Steven Ozment, “What Protestants set out to overcome was a perceived oppressive superstition––teachings and practices that burdened the consciences and pocketbooks of the faithful. From the point of view of the reformers, the issue in late medieval religion was not the challenge of venerable tradition and authority by disrespectful individuals bent on novelty, but a religious institution that had become ineffectual in its devotional and liturgical practice and barely credible in its doctrinal teaching.”

To increasing numbers of people in the late Middle Ages, the worship, penitential exercises, and doctrinal teachings of the Roman Church lacked credibility. Much of it no longer passed the “smell test.” It left many with burdened consciences cold and without comfort as to the forgiveness of their sins. Their deepest, most profound, persistent, and pervasive questions were theological.

Luther’s focus on justification by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, is what gave rise to the Protestant Reformation. Luther said that justification by faith alone is the doctrine by which the church “stands or falls.” He said it can never be taught too often and no one will ever understand it well enough in this life. It is the test of a true theologian and if one does not understand it, one might as well be “a lawyer, ceremonialist, or a legalist.”

Luther, Calvin, and the other reformers, however, knew that studying theology saves no one. Yet they also believed that studying theology can help us to understand better who saves us and how, when, where, and why we are saved. And this is why the Foundation for Reformed Theology exists.

The Foundation for Reformed Theology exists to bring “ministers together for the study reading of classical Reformed theology.” Instead of focusing on better advertising, better branding, better marketers, and better slogans (not that we couldn't use more help in these areas!), we focus on theology for the sake of better preaching, better teaching, and better pastoral care.

Do you believe that the theological training of pastors and congregational leaders is important? If so, would you please consider investing 10%, 5%, 2%, or even 1% of the money you and your congregation spend on technology or marketing to promote better preaching, better teaching, and better pastoral care through the work of Foundation for Reformed Theology? If so, we would be most grateful.

If you want to hear a wonderful sermon by John H. Leith on Reformation Sunday delivered on Nov. 5, 1990, at Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton, New Jersey, here is an audio link: https://foundationrt.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Leith_Remembering_Reformation.mp3

Have a happy Reformation Day!

Sincerely,

Richard E. Burnett

The Foundation for Reformed Theology exists to support pastors in their work of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. In so doing, we seek to encourage them in their ministries, strengthening them through the reading and reflecting upon classic texts found in Reformed theology. To support this effort, I invite you to make a gift to the Foundation for Reformed Theology. You may do so online at: https://foundationrt.org/donate/ or by sending your donation to Foundation for Reformed Theology, P.O. Box 50026, Greenwood, SC 29649.

Donate – Foundation for Reformed Theology Donate If you would like to donate online, click button below to be transferred to the Presbyterian Foundation for secure payment: If you would like to donate online, click button below to be transferred to PayPal for secure payment: If you would like to donate by check, please write it to “Founda...

Theology for the Sake of the Church

Dear Friends of The Foundation for Reformed Theology:

It is a great honor and privilege to serve the Foundation for Reformed Theology as its new Executive Director. I am grateful for each member of the Board of the Foundation. I am grateful for the support that our Friends have provided the Foundation in the past which has allowed us to fulfill our mission of “Better Preaching, Better Teaching and Better Pastoral Care.” Last but not least, I am grateful for the faithful work of my predecessors, Jim Goodloe and Tom Currie.

Jim and Tom have been friends of mine for a long time. I cherish their friendship and have learned much from them, and I want to continue to learn from them as there is so much more to learn in this new job. Jim and Tom have many extraordinary gifts, talents, and skills––and many that I do not have. But we have this in common: We care about pastors, specifically, about supporting them through theology that is for the sake of the church.

My wife, Martha, and I have served congregations in Tennessee, New Jersey, North Carolina, and South Carolina. We both grew up as children of the manse. Her father was a Lutheran pastor in Germany. My father was a Presbyterian minister in West Virginia and North Carolina. We both feel privileged to have grown up in the homes of faithful ministers. Yet we know that the life and work of a minister can be not only among the most rewarding, but also among the most demanding.

This is why we are so passionate about the work of the Foundation. We want to support the work of preachers and pastors. We want to help ministers to fulfill their calling. We want to help pastors and congregations draw upon the rich resources of the Reformed tradition to provide Better Teaching, Better Preaching, and Better Pastoral Care.

This is what John H. Leith cared about. He cared about pastors, specifically, about supporting pastors through theology that is for the sake of the church. This is why he established the Foundation in 1982, namely, for “the bringing of ministers together for the study and reading of classical Reformed theology.” This is the mission I have promised to fulfill, and I do so with great joy.

There is a lot of work ahead. Though the mission of the Foundation remains the same, we are in the process of reorganizing and reevaluating many aspects of our work. I have met with most of the seminar leaders via Zoom in the last few weeks and have discussed various aspects of the past, present, and future of the Foundation’s work. We want to make the most of the opportunities we have, and we want to be good stewards of the resources that have been entrusted to us.

For those who have supported the Foundation in the past, we thank you and ask for your continued support this year. For those who have not yet supported the Foundation, we ask that you please consider doing so. If you believe that the Foundation provides critical support to pastors, then the return on your investment will be significant.

The Board of the Foundation is unified in its sense of purpose, and I believe the future of the Foundation is as bright as ever. We are in it for the long haul, and I look forward to meeting each of you. If you have questions, thoughts, or concerns about the Foundation, please feel free to call me (864-378-5416).

Sincerely,

Richard E. Burnett

The Foundation for Reformed Theology exists to support pastors in their work of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. In so doing, we seek to encourage them in their ministries, strengthening them through the reading and reflecting upon classic texts found in Reformed theology. To support this effort, I invite you to make a gift to the Foundation for Reformed Theology. You may send your donation to Foundation for Reformed Theology, P.O. Box 50026, Greenwood, SC 29649.

Farewell and Welcome! - July 2, 2023

Dear Friends of The Foundation for Reformed Theology:

For the past two and a half years, it has been my privilege to serve as the "Interim Director" of the Foundation for Reformed Theology. I have enjoyed this work, especially getting to know many of you. I have also enjoyed working with members of the board of the Foundation, some of whom have become very dear friends. At their meeting on June 29th, the board voted to merge our efforts with those of the journal, Theology Matters, and elected Richard Burnett to be the Executive Director of the Foundation. I count Richard as a good friend and a theologian from whom I have learned a great deal. I am delighted that he is willing to undertake this new responsibility and I pledge to support him in every way I can. I do ask for your patience during these summer months of transition.

Before leaving this space, however, I want to thank all of you for your support of the Foundation and particularly for your words of encouragement to me. I have enjoyed writing these missives and you have been kind to read them. Please know how grateful I am for you. And for those whose responsibility it is to preach, teach, and offer pastoral care, I trust you will continue to find strength in the resources Reformed theology provides, and most of all that you will continue to find strength in that One to whom Reformed theology exists to serve, even the God of Jesus Christ.

One further note: at the end of all of these missives is an appeal of sorts to support the Foundation's work with gifts of money. I hope you will take that to heart as well. We cannot do what we have been called to do without the support of friends such as you.

So here is the press release:

"June 29, 2023

Today after a comprehensive strategic evaluation over the past year, the Board of the Foundation for Reformed Theology announced the addition to our Board of ten new members from the ministry of Theology Matters, resulting in a union of the two Boards to collaborate on and enhance the mission of the Foundation. Additionally, Dr. Richard E. Burnett was elected to the position of Executive Director of the Foundation.

The Board is excited about both of these actions and believes this collaboration will enable the Foundation to continue to achieve the goals that Dr. John H. Leith originally envisioned for it, namely, to strengthen and enrich pastors in their work of preaching, teaching, and pastoral care by drawing on the theological resources of the Reformed faith.

The Board acknowledges with gratitude the leadership of Tom Currie for his work as the Interim Director of the Foundation for the past three years. His hard work, service, devotion to the Reformed tradition, and email missives to our constituency have enabled the Foundation to move forward.

The Board welcomes Dr. Richard E. Burnett as our new Executive Director. Richard Burnett is a gifted teacher of Reformed theology, a proven leader in articulating the church's faith, and a theologian committed to supporting and nourishing pastors in their work of ministry. His stewardship of the journal, Theology Matters, and his convening of large numbers of pastors in conference settings make him a natural fit to lead this collaborative effort. Having served on the Board of the Foundation for seventeen years, he already has a very good understanding of its mission. He comments: 'This is a great honor. I am deeply grateful for the Board of the Foundation and especially for Tom Currie and his leadership. I look forward to continuing to support the Foundation's particular mission and I will work to expand the scope of its work in the days to come. The mission of Theology Matters and the work of the Foundation for Reformed Theology have much in common and I believe this collaboration will strengthen both organizations in the future.'

The reconstituted Board will continue to pursue the goals of the Foundation as originally set forth by Dr. Leith, and in that respect, its mission will remain unchanged. We look forward to continuing to support pastors who commit to meeting together to study theological texts of the Reformed faith as a means of strengthening their ministry. And further we believe this uniting of efforts with Theology Matters will energize and expand the work of the Foundation in the future.

It is our hope to hold a conference in Montreat, North Carolina in the future."

May God bless and keep you,

Thomas W. Currie

The Foundation for Reformed Theology exists to support pastors in their work of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. In so doing, we seek to encourage them in their ministries, strengthening them through the reading and reflecting upon classic texts found in Reformed theology. To support this effort, I invite you to make a gift to the Foundation for Reformed Theology. You may do so online at: https://foundationrt.org/donate/ or by sending your donation to Foundation for Reformed Theology, C/o Union Presbyterian Seminary, 5141 Sharon Rd., Charlotte, North Carolina 28210.



Foundation for Reformed Theology | (704) 293-0881 | C/o Union Presbyterian Seminary, 5141 Sharon Rd., Charlotte, North Carolina 28210 | www.foundationrt.org

Foundation for Reformed Theology – Better Preaching, Better Teaching, Better Pastoral Care Gathers ministers and elders into ongoing communities of guided study, Provides for the in-depth reading and recovery of the historic faith and theology of the church, Helps these leaders better understand and apply that to the current life of the church, and thus Contributes to building up the chur...