The World Reformed Fellowship Statement of Faith (The Rcrt Ecclesiology Project)

"At the inaugural General Assembly of the World Reformed Fellowship (WRF) in 2000 . . . I proposed that the . . . WRF could serve the church by writing a new confession of faith for the twenty-first century . . . The first reason was that the members of the WRF were drawn from many nations and from many denominations and were using a whole range of confessional statements . . . At the same time, there was general agreement that we were all 'Reformed' in theology . . . The second reason was the need for a confessional statement to address the issues the church is facing today . . . The third reason was that all of our confessions were written in Western Europe, whereas the leadership in the global church has now moved to the southern hemisphere . . . [S]cholars from Africa, Asia, Australasia and South America joined with theologians from Europe and North America to engage in [the] task . . . [The Statement] was presented to the WRF General Assembly . . . in April 2010. An invitation was then issued to all members of the WRF to suggest any changes or additions to the text . . . [The Statement presented here was approved by the WRF Bord of Directors in 2011. It] . . . is not intended to replace [other] . . . confessional statements . . . [but] may be of use to individuals and churches as they reflect on the nature of Reformed Theology and its application to the theological and moral issues which confront the church in the twenty-first century."

A. T. B. McGowan, formerly director of the Rutherford Centre for Reformed Theology, is emeritus professor of theology in the University of the Highlands and Islands. He served as principal of Highland Theological College for fifteen years and has also served as minister in various parishes of the Church of Scotland. Professor McGowan is vice chairman of the World Reformed Fellowship and serves as chairman of its Theological Commission.