Dear Reader, This blog presents thoughts about God. God is the greatest pursuit in life. Finding him and knowing him and living with him, for His sake, is the essence of the purpose of all human life. We were made for him. Our discovery of Him is because He has pursued us. If you have found Him, it is because you were found of Him. Perhaps, you will find here some common and familiar ideas of the One who is above all else the lover of our souls. I do hope that you will find some comfort here. It may even be that you will find something more to be learned and found of Him. Above all else, I desire that these musings may be useful to you, and in some way, bring you closer to God and give honor to Him, who is, and was, and always shall be.
Hi, I'm Luke Finley! Thanks for stopping by! I'm a writer, entrepreneur, and in ministry. I love blue oxford button-down shirts and use the 😜 emoji way more than I should. I never set out to be a writer, but I love stories and ideas, and want to use my experiences to help you thrive.
My Mission I believe God has put you on this earth for a reason. Your story isn't an accident, but rather the context for you to serve God and your neighbor. I'm not content with you floating through life, and want you to reach your potential for the betterment of God's Kingdom and the communities around you.
So that's why I write. I'm not going to tell you what to do, but rather want to equip and encourage you to see the opportunities in your community and to act on them. I think big things are possible, and want to see you make the most of your life .
A Little Background I grew up in a small town in Kansas, and after going to seminary in Pittsburgh, spent a year in South Sudan working with church leaders there. I then moved to New York City in 2014 and started an apartment cleaning business in Brooklyn, before later working at Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Now, I’m focusing on writing and the gray area between church and society.
Gentle Reformation is a cooperative effort by friends in the R&P faith (Reformed and Presbyterian) to speak the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in its many applications through the media of the internet. Our blog is intentionally styled:
-to be persuasive rather than polemical (seeking to avoid the condescending pride that is, sadly, too often seen in R&P circles among those who, of all people, should be able knowledgeably to say “by the grace of God I am what I am”); -to speak in a tone that is pastoral rather than pejorative (though Biblical faithfulness demands that we cry “Wolf!” on occasion (see Matthew 7:15; Acts 20:29-31), we will be sure to do it only when warranted and not so often that we start sounding like that proverbial boy); -and to consider the people in the pews rather than professors and pastors as our primary audience (though many of us, being such ourselves, love pastors and professors and invite them to read along!).
The Jerusalem Chamber is a unique collaborative effort between pastors Shawn Anderson, Kyle Borg, Nathan Eshelman, and Joel Wood to provide a round table discussion on the Westminster Confession of Faith.
The Jerusalem Chamber gets its name from the meeting room at Westminster Abbey where, from 1643-1653, the Westminster Divines met to produce, among other things, the Westminster Confession of Faith. This confession remains one of the most enduring summaries of evangelical truth and remains the teaching of Presbyterian churches. Far from being an irrelevant relic of the past, it is our belief that the health of the church depends on continuing to pattern our doctrine, worship, and piety after it.
There are many good commentaries and works that explore the theology of the Westminster Confession of Faith. The uniqueness of The Jerusalem Chamber podcast is that it provides an audio discussion with pastoral application of every paragraph of the confession. Join Shawn, Kyle, Nathan, and Joel–four good friends and fellow pastors in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America–as they discuss “the humble advice of the Assembly of Divines.”
Shawn Anderson grew up in Northwestern PA but has lived in Michigan, New York, and briefly in Washington and Texas. He professed faith in Christ in the summer of 1996 and he considers 1 Timothy 1:15 to be a text central to his life in Christ, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” He is married to Tammy and they are raising four young disciples in the fear and knowledge of the Lord, who supplies abundant daily grace. The Andersons enjoy fellowship around coffee and food, walks through the city, visiting playgrounds, and reading together. Shawn is the Minister of the Gospel at Sycamore Reformed Presbyterian Church in Kokomo, IN.
