Greystone Conversations

Henry Jansma, Canon Theologian in the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word, dives deep into the significance of the Anglican formularies and their role within the broader church. He expertly navigates the historical roots of Anglicanism amidst contemporary challenges, emphasizing the importance of traditions while addressing modern issues. Jansma also discusses the need for effective theological education to ensure a vibrant faith community, fostering appreciation across diverse Reformed expressions and celebrating the complexities of Anglican worship.

How might it affect our perception and appreciation of the Continental Reformed tradition if we were to ask what contribution that tradition makes to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, instead of thinking of it as a relatively isolated, even insulated church tradition?At Greystone, we embrace our confessional Reformed identity and practice, but we do so somewhat differently than what has become conventional. Some in the Reformed tradition speak so stridently, confidently, and even triumphantly of the so-called “distinctives” of the Reformed tradition, or an allegedly distinctly Reformed way of asking or answering a question, that it might suggest that critics of the Reformed tradition are correct when they say we are a novum, a new tradition starting in the 16th century. It is not uncommon in fact to hear Reformed theologians refer to “the” Reformed position on something when in fact they are referring only to one or two favorite theologians whose contribution dates back only a generation or two. Among other problems, many of them historical, we can appreciate a theological danger in this way of thinking, especially in the context of the doctrine of the Church. If there wasn’t a new Pentecost event in the 16th century, one which marked the inauguration of the true Church, then we should both expect and revel in at least most of the ways in which the Reformed tradition represents a faithful expression of the one and only Church there is, and whose contributions can and should be recognized in terms of the corrective and productive contributions she makes, in faithfulness, to what that Church has always believed, taught, and confessed, albeit always at least somewhat imperfectly. Within the Reformed tradition, of course, in which we identify subgroups or subexpressions we call presbyterian, continental, and anglican, each with their own varying children and grandchildren, this is even more the case. Each of these three principal expressions of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church makes a discrete and valuable contribution to that Church, and does so as a providential form of that Church in history.In what follows, then, you’ll hear the first of three Greystone Conversation episodes that belong together, one with each of the lead lecturers for each of the three traditions represented in this Greystone course. Daniel Hyde, today’s conversation partner, lectured on the so-called continental symbols, the Three Forms of Unity.For those who are interested in joining this class and who are listening to these episodes in time to do so, note that Greystone will offer this class in the fall term of 2025, September to December, using a combination of the recorded lectures provided by these eminent scholars, and 3-4 1.5 hour live meetings for dedicated seminar discussion, approximately one per month. Please visit our website for more information, or write us at info@greystoneinstitute.org.

How might it affect our perception and appreciation of Westminster Presbyterianism if we were to ask what contribution Presbyterianism makes to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, instead of thinking of it as a relatively isolated, even insulated church tradition?At Greystone, we embrace our confessional Reformed identity and practice, but we do so somewhat differently than what has become conventional. Some in the Reformed tradition speak so stridently, confidently, and even triumphantly of the so-called “distinctives” of the Reformed tradition, or an allegedly distinctly Reformed way of asking or answering a question, that it might suggest that critics of the Reformed tradition are correct when they say we are a novum, a new tradition starting in the 16th century. It is not uncommon in fact to hear Reformed theologians refer to “the” Reformed position on something when in fact they are referring only to one or two favorite theologians whose contribution dates back only a generation or two. Among other problems, many of them historical, we can appreciate a theological danger in this way of thinking, especially in the context of the doctrine of the Church. If there wasn’t a new Pentecost event in the 16th century, one which marked the inauguration of the true Church, then we should both expect and revel in at least most of the ways in which the Reformed tradition represents a faithful expression of the one and only Church there is, and whose contributions can and should be recognized in terms of the corrective and productive contributions she makes, in faithfulness, to what that Church has always believed, taught, and confessed, albeit always at least somewhat imperfectly. Within the Reformed tradition, of course, in which we identify subgroups or subexpressions we call presbyterian, continental, and anglican, each with their own varying children and grandchildren, this is even more the case. Each of these three principal expressions of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church makes a discrete and valuable contribution to that Church, and does so as a providential form of that Church in history.In what follows, then, you’ll hear the first of three Greystone Conversation episodes that belong together, one with each of the lead lecturers for each of the three traditions represented in this Greystone course. Michael Lynch, today’s conversation partner, lectured on the Westminster Assembly and its confession and catechisms, Daniel Hyde, our conversation partner in the next episode, lectured on the so-called continental symbols, the Three Forms of Unity, and Henry Jansma of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word, and our conversation partner in the third and last conversation in this series, lectured on the Anglican Formularies.For those who are interested in joining this class and who are listening to these episodes in time to do so, note that Greystone will offer this class in the fall term of 2025, September to December, using a combination of the recorded lectures provided by these eminent scholars, and 3-4 1.5 hour live meetings for dedicated seminar discussion, approximately one per month. Please visit our website for more information, or write us at mailto:info@greystoneinstitute.org.

What are the roles of church councils in the overall faith and life of God’s people? Is there more to say than simply to note their importance for the history of theology? Are they infallible or fallible, antiquated or still viable options for resolving disagreements in the church? To discuss these questions and more, Dr. Mark A. Garcia is joined by Dr. Todd Rester, associate professor of church history at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA.

What would you write to your adult children about the good life? Would it strike the modern notes of making the most of yourself and your abilities, seizing every opportunity, making a difference in the world? Or would it focus on the beauty and goodness of our created and providentially given limits, personally and relationally?This is the question that prompted Ephraim Radner’s most recent book, Mortal Goods: Reimagining Christian Political Duty. In today’s Greystone Conversation, Greystone President, Dr. Mark A. Garcia, sits down with Professor Radner to explore the ironically revolutionary idea that the ordinary, quotidian, limited life we have been graciously given in God’s providence is the world we are called to and which invites our self-offering. In a time when political and social fervor is at fever-pitch, and it’s easy to believe that we are called to make a difference in the world at large, especially through political means, this is a call back to something the Church has always cherished in one way or another: both creation and providence are good, and our limits, the limits of our bodily lives maximally defined, are goods too. Radner’s book takes its point of departure in a letter he wrote to his adult children, an updated version of which closes the book, and along the way he prods and provokes in the direction of greater modesty in what he calls “betterment” politics. But the frame of the book, and its heart, we suggest, is this message about the beauty of our ordinary lives and contexts, and it is this that we considered together in today’s episode.

In our day, while biblical and theological studies certainly continue to abound, questions about the traditional Christian understanding of the atonement are not primarily focused on the question is it biblical. Nor are they focused on whether it is theologically coherent. Instead, they are driven by a concern that it may be violent, and whether that is or is not biblical or theologically coherent is less important than the fact that it is unacceptable. Why? Because a bloody atonement funds or leads to bloody behavior, to various forms of evil conduct. Or does it? Would a theoretically bloodless atonement really be better?For today's episode of Greystone Conversations, Mark Garcia, President and Fellow in Scripture and Theology at Greystone Theological Institute sits down with Dr. Benjamin Burkholder, a Fellow in Scripture and Theology at Greystone who also serves North Park Church in Wexford, PA near Pittsburgh. Dr. Burkholder has written about the attraction of a bloodless atonement in modern theology and biblical studies and has a pastoral interest in its powerful role in contemporary Christian culture. Dr. Burkholder will teach a full course on this topic this coming spring of 2024, “Studies in Soteriology,” beginning in early February, and as we note in today’s conversation, we are making this class available at no cost to all Greystone Members as a benefit of your Membership.

What if preaching is not only to be carried out with humility, but is also itself a humble form of the Word of God in power? Augustine is known mostly for his large and profound theological treatises, but how can this most influential of theologians also teach us about the urgency of humility as a mode of preaching to humble people?In today's Greystone Conversations episode, Dr. Mark A. Garcia sits down with Greystone’s Associate Fellow in Christian Tradition, Dr. Charles (Chad) Kim of St Louis University. Dr. Kim is the author of a forthcoming book on Augustine and preaching, and the special contribution of his book is Dr. Kim’s exploration of the role of humility in Augustine’s preaching—not only in his content, but in his mode and approach to preaching. In a recent journal article, Dr. Kim anticipated his book in a study of how Augustine preached to an audience of (many, not exclusively) fishermen and farmers in rural North Africa. Dr. Kim emphasizes how Augustine demonstrated the way of humility found in Christ for his audience, a Christological mode that helps to explain why Augustine’s preaching looked so different from that of the modern day. The result is a rich insight into the density and power of a classical Reformed conviction found in the Second Helvetic Confession (chapter 1) but rarely found—or at least deployed—in contemporary works on preaching, namely, that preaching the Word of God is itself truly a form of the Word of God in which God comes near and draws near. How might this conviction change and inspire Reformed preaching?

What might it look like to refuse generalizations about faithful pastoral ministry and allow the people and context of actual ministerial labor to inform the measure of faithfulness?At Greystone, we make much of the ordinary sources of wisdom in God’s Word and ways. But by “ordinary” we don’t mean something less valuable or less important. In fact, we mean the opposite. It is in the ordinary (and in that sense mundane) contexts of life that God, in his ordering and sustaining providence, surrounds us with what we are to regard as sources of potential wisdom. From the ant in Proverbs whose example of industry is supposed to be noted by the sluggard, to the skilled merchant or ruler or craftsman or father or mother whose accumulated wisdom is supposed to be gleaned by the observant, God fills our lives with particular relationships and contexts that are to be attended to with spiritual interest.This informs pastoral ministry, which is not ministry to people in general but to people in particular—these people, right here, in this place and time, with their stories and backgrounds and not others. Faithful pastoral ministry is therefore something that requires not only the learned skills of biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, theology and history, and so on, but also patience, listening, and a kind of conformation to the particular people one is called to shepherd. This is of course only one particular expression of something that is true of the Christian life in general. This is more than respecting God’s providence; it’s using it.In today’s Greystone Conversations episode Dr. Mark A. Garcia sits down with Pastor Aaron Carr. Pastor Carr is the minister of Word and Sacrament at First Presbyterian Church in Trenton, Michigan in the greater Detroit area, and he is also the Director of the Greystone Learning Community there. Pastor Carr grew up in the context he now serves as pastor, which has helped him serve them in important ways: a blue-collar environment with a rugged and tenaciously faithful people. We talked about how this has shaped his ministry among them, how mentors in his life have guided his mentorship of others, and what advice he might have for those who are called to pastoral ministry—a ministry that must love particular people enough to watch, listen to, and really get to know them before deciding what care for them looks like.

Today’s Greystone Conversations episode is taken from Greystone’s upcoming Summer module, Domestic Violence in Theology & Pastoral Ministry—a module which, in many respects, might be among the most unexpected for a theology institute dedicated to the advancement of Reformed theology in the mode of Reformed catholicity. The unexpected topic of this module highlights one of the challenges the Church faces in giving this complicated topic the attention it deserves: we often treat this incredibly complex and ugly subject as though it is in some ways less theologically demanding and less theological in nature than some of the more familiar and comfortable traditional theological questions.We also highlight here another challenge in addressing this topic: the disconnect between what we think we see, hear, and feel among such people with the reality that they live with in a largely private and invisible way. We do this, in part, because we are inclined to assume that what we see, what we hear, and what we experience must be, if not exhaustive of reality, at least a very reliable indicator of reality.The responsibility therefore for pastors and all Christians is a posture of patience, wisdom, thoughtfulness, and deliberateness as necessary ingredients in interpreting a situation faithfully. Such a posture, and the related virtues, belong to some of the classical virtues the church has recognized as important for doing sound theology. Therefore, we see that domestic violence is both a theologically profound and existentially disturbing reality that is no less theological and pastorally necessary to study than any other dogmatic topic.This module will be taught online for ThM and PhD students, and will be open to all MDiv and MAR students in the Westminster at Greystone Collaboration. For access to this courses and many more, become a Greystone Member today.

How might a thematic analysis of Jeremiah, particularly the theme of the faithless bride, help pastors better serve their churches? What can Christians learn about the futility and dangers of sin by studying the Book of Jeremiah, and how might this theme of the faithless bride lead us to a deeper appreciation of Jesus Christ?Jeremiah’s confrontation with Israel over their faithlessness is still valuable for those who confront sin today when we consider two key realities about sin. First, sin is irrational. It is utter madness to try to slake one’s thirst with the grime at the bottom of a cistern when you can drink from a clear, pure spring. Second, sin’s power is broken when we are disgusted by it. We must understand that what seems so attractive about sin is actually hideously ugly. Yes, Jeremiah is about Israel and Judah, but it is also about us.As ministers of the gospel, pastors must gravely and potently confront sin and get people to see its abhorrence and the hopelessness that it drives us to before they can show and speak of the true hope that we have in Jesus Christ. And yet, here's this lingering question: how can we ever arrive here? How can we ever arrive at this knowledge of our sin when Jeremiah so emphasizes the power of self-deception and delusion? As the rest of Jeremiah will show, the new covenant will have the power to pierce our self-deception and engender true conviction in our hearts, and only by the power of God's initiative through Jesus Christ will the Faithless bride once again become a faithful wife and love her husband in her heart of hearts.Today’s Greystone Conversations episode is taken from a recent Greystone Module, Jeremiah as Christian Scripture. This module was lead by Dr. Matthew Patton, and will be on Greystone Connect for all Greystone Members soon. Dr. Patton earned his MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia (WTS) and his PhD in Biblical Theology and Old Testament at Wheaton College under Dr. Daniel Block. He is pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Vandalia, OH.