Blue Collar Confessionalism

“Blue Collar Confessionalism”—a phrase coined by Pastor Michael Foster—aims to bring together the sincere, ‘salt-of-the-earth’ faith of hard-working ‘blue collar’ Americans with the historic, confessional Christianity that built America out of a wilderness.

When the Southern Baptist Convention formed in 1845, the majority of its members were unashamedly Calvinistic and adhered to one of three historic confessions of faith. Sadly, the Civil War wiped out an entire generation of men, leaving our nation extremely vulnerable to the influence of secular progressive ideals which poured into the South, from the North (watch), during reconstruction.

The church was flooded with first-wave feminism and liberal theology. Calvinism was stigmatized as being too patriarchal and too judgmental. The hyper-feminized church clamored for a softer, therapeutic “gospel” that didn’t confront people with man’s sinfulness or God’s wrath. The reformed faith, with its masculine edge, was all but banished from the land. Subsequent generations were taught to despise our rich Protestant heritage & to be ashamed of our forefathers—a violation of the fifth commandment to “Honor your Father and Mother.”

The confessionalism that remained was mostly relegated to the ‘ivory towers’ of academia and to the ‘high church’ tradition of urban, upper-class society where it, too often, became a cold, lifeless confession from people who ‘honored’ God with their lips, but not their hearts. Even there, it was hollowed out, by liberalism and feminism.

It’s time to reject the modern liberal theology that has destroyed our nation & recover the historic confessionalism required to rebuild America—the robustly reformed faith of our forefathers. It’s time for fathers (calling all men) to show the world that, like King David, you can be both a warrior and a worshipper—you can work on cars and care deeply about your faith. You can be tough as nails and also belt out hymns in sincere Sunday worship.

This church will confess the 1689 London Baptist Confession & hold to it as our teaching standard.

Theological & Cultural Maximalism

Theological & cultural maximalism means applying the full counsel of God’s Word to the full scope of our lives. Theological liberalism has led many churches to be embarrassed over the Bible, and to self-censor for political correctness. As a result, many churches have relagated their preaching and teaching ministry to the ghetto of a few safe doctrines—everything else is off limits (theological & cultural minimalism).

When’s the last time you heard a faithful sermon on wives keeping the home and submitting to their husbands? Or on the evils of no-fault divorce and abortion? On the duty of fathers to disciple & educate their children?

Far too many churches in our day have succumbed to “Christ-Centered” cowardice—they use Jesus as an excuse to not address the pressing issues of our day; to not equip the saints for the full-range of Christian duties. As a result, most Christians are stunted in their spiritual maturity and not ready to handle life as it comes at us.

We truly believe Christ is at the center of all things, and, therefore, it’s imperative that Christians are taught how to honor Christ in all things—including marraige, family, sex, modesty, work, finance, education, politics, immigration, civic duties, etc. True Christ-centeredness calls for a fully-orbed faith.

As we like to say around here, “All of God’s Word, For All of Your Life.”

Family Integrated Worship & Covenant Renewal

Family Integrated Worship means families will sit together on the same pew and worship God together as a family. We believe God—and the sincere worship of Him—is the glue that holds a family together. We don’t segregate children on Sundays.

*We may provide a nursery option, initially, for ages 2 and below—to help newcomers acclimate.

Covenant Renewal refers to a historic and biblical pattern of worship that regulates our Sunday liturgy towards an intentional focus on renewing covenant with God. This is vastly different from the modern, consumer-driven focus of your typical Sunday service which seeks to attract and entertain non-Christians. Rather than passive spectating, Covenant Renewal calls for active participation.

Each Sunday, the liturgy will begin with a resounding ‘Call to Worship.” Think of this as the dinner bell on the country farm—it’s time to feast on the LORD!

Next is a time for corporate “Confession of Sin & Assurance of Pardon.” Think of this as wiping your feet at the door as you enter into the LORD’s house (presence). We’ll recite scripture on repentance and forgivenss, followed by a time of examining our life, renouncing sin, and remembering the gospel that saves us.

After this, we enter into a time for “Consecration” (devotion) to the LORD. This time will include reverent, joyful singing of doctrinally-rich hymns and psalms, as well as corporately confessing our faith through creeds & catechisms, and actively listening to a sermonic exhortation from God’s Word.

Covenant Renewal is, essentially, a series of gear shifts that culminate with “Communion”—a time of communing with Christ in the LORD’s Supper. It’s a weekly means of grace to help sustain a persevering faith. Each week, we’ll gather for Sunday Worship and then be “Commissioned” (ie. ‘sent out’ in God’s strength) to all the duties and good works which God has prepared for us to do. Our children will be with us, by our side, the entire time—watching, learning, imitating.

Optimistic Postmillennial Eschatology

Postmillennialism is the belief that Christ will return as King at the end (or post) of the millennium, which is a prolonged “golden age” of gospel advance mentioned in Revelation 20. Postmillennialism has been called the “optimistic eschatology” because it teaches that the Great Commission—”to disciple the nations unto faith and obedience to Christ”—will be wildly successful in the course of history.

Postmillennialism has also been called “The Puritain Hope” because it was the vision that compelled much of the Puritan mission and ministry during the 1700-1800’s. Many great preachers & missionaries were and are “Postmill” including Jonathan Edwards & William Carey.

At the end of the day—who would you rather have on your team in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line? A bunch of pessimists convinced we’re supposed to lose down here? Or a band of brothers playing to win—convinced, deep in our bones, that the gospel will be victorious & not even the gates of Hell can stop it!

You don’t have to be “postmill” to join us, but you do have to “have that dog in you.” ‘Loser’ theology has no place here.

Biblical Manhood & Womanhood

Another word for this is “gendered piety”—the belief that God made man and woman as two distinct glories—both equally valued, loved, and redeemed by faith in Christ—yet distinctly different in their natures, callings, and duties.

Most liberal churches are openly egalitarian, while most “conservative” churches claim to be “complementarian”—which is really just code for ‘closet’ egalitarianism. At the end of the day—both pretend that men and women are basically interchangeable. “Anything a man can do, a woman can do…and should do”—so goes the thinking.

Feminism is a theological heresy that has brought widespread ruin upon society—destroying marriage & family, polluting politics, the police force, military, education, etc.—and killing hundreds of millions of unborn babies in their mother’s womb.

In a world full of soft, effiminate men & butch, bossy babes, we’ll help the next generation reject that ugly rebellion and embrace the beauty and glory of Biblical manhood & womanhood.

Christian Education & Covenant Succession

We expect fathers (and mothers) to provide a robust Christian Education—along with a compelling Christian home—that will commend & pass down the Christian faith to their children and grand-children after them. We will do everything in our power to encourage, exhort, equip, and outfit parents to accomplish that end.

Secular Education is one of the primary drivers of apostacy in our nation. Somewhere between 75-85% of Christian Children abandon the faith by the end of their freshmen year in college—if they are educated in public schools. Conversely, only around 5-10% leave if they’re given a solid Christian education (homeschool or private School). As Dr. Voddie Baucham warned, “We cannot continue to send our children to Caesar for their education and be surprised when they come home as Romans.”

As our church comes together, we’ll look to start a Christian homeschool co-op & potentially an affordable (hybrid) Christian, classical school. We want to help you build a multi-generational legacy of faithfulness to Christ. This is how we save America!