Foundation for Reformed Theology

11/19/2025

When Jesus speaks, even the dead listen and obey.

Jesus said, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking. Mark 5:41–42

Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak. Luke 7:14–15

Jesus said, “Lazarus, come out.” And the man who had died came out. John 11:43–44

These three dead people had no capacity to hear, listen, breathe, or obey. There was no point of contact. There was no cooperation or capacity for it. And yet, when Jesus speaks, even the dead hear, listen, and obey.

The word of Jesus Christ created what he commanded, out of the nothingness of death.

Now, that is preaching!

08/28/2025

Associate Executive Director

Theology Matters Mission

Theology matters because the gospel of Jesus Christ matters. The task of theology is to evaluate the church’s proclamation of the gospel according to Scripture and as attested in the catholic creeds and the Reformed confessions and catechisms of the church, in order to ensure that it is an authentic proclamation of the gospel and not something other. This urgent work must be done afresh in every age.

Theology Matters exists to equip and encourage, to instruct and inspire, members of the Reformed-Presbyterian family and the wider Christian community through the clear and coherent articulation of theology that is reformed according to God’s Word. It exists to bear witness to the truth of Jesus Christ. Theology makes a fundamental difference in the way we pray, think, and live.

Associate Executive Director Overview

The Associate Executive Director of Theology Matters shall help to provide theological leadership for Reformed and Presbyterian Churches, especially in the United States of America but also around the world.

This theological leadership shall be exercised and expressed especially in and through four major program areas:

Theology Matters, a quarterly sixteen-page theology journal;

Theology Matters Conference, an annual three-day theology conference;

The Institute for Theological Education, two-year Master of Arts in Reformed Theology; and

Theological Study Seminars, annual week-long guided events for pastors.

The Associate Executive Director shall be supervised by the Executive Director.

Responsibilities

The initial and primary responsibility of the Associate Executive Director shall be fundraising to support all four areas of the program. This shall include but not be limited to:

Cultivating and maintaining relationships with donors and prospective donors, including individuals, churches, and foundations, through visits, calls, letters, and so forth;

Seeking initially current and annual gifts and grants for current expenses; and

Seeking eventually major gifts, including planned giving, for growth of program.

An additional responsibility of the Associate Executive Director shall be conducting the program in some or all of the four areas, as determined by the Executive Director:

Recruiting speakers, worship leaders, and workshop leaders for the annual Theology Conference;

Recruiting knowledgeable and competent authors for the journal; edit articles; get copy to the publisher; oversee mailing, including maintaining up-to-date mail list; and

Recruiting and overseeing professors for the Institute for Theological Education; recruiting and overseeing students for the Master of Arts in Reformed Theology degree program; maintaining relationship with University of Dubuque Theological Seminary.

A third responsibility of the Associate Executive Director shall include some administration of the organization, in cooperation with other personnel.

Requirements

Ph.D. in a theological discipline

Ordination to the ministry in a Presbyterian denomination

Pastoral experience

Working knowledge of the theological issues before the church

Ability to relate well with various people

Good writing ability

Fundraising knowledge and experience

Good initiative, eagerness to work, ability to schedule various responsibilities

Location

Preferably in the southeast, but could be elsewhere

To Apply

Please send letter of expression of interest and résumé to:

Dr. James C. Goodloe IV
2300 Cedarfield Pkwy., Apt. 469
Richmond, VA 23233-1947
[email protected]
(804) 678-8352

10/02/2024

OUR WHOLE SALVATION IS IN CHRIST

We see that our whole salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ. We should therefore take care not to derive the least portion of it from anywhere else. If we seek salvation, we are taught by the very name of Jesus that it is “of him.” If we seek any other gifts of the Spirit, they will be found in his anointing. If we seek strength, it lies in his dominion; if purity, in his conception; if gentleness, it appears in his birth. For by his birth he was made like us in all respects that he might learn to feel our pain. If we seek redemption, it lies in his passion; if acquittal, in his condemnation; if remission of the curse, in his cross; if satisfaction, in his sacrifice; if purification, in his blood; if reconciliation, in his descent into hell; if mortification of the flesh, in his tomb; if newness of life, in his resurrection; if immortality, in the same; if inheritance of the Heavenly Kingdom, in his entrance into heaven; if protection, if security, if abundant supply of all blessings, in his Kingdom; if untroubled expectation of judgment, in the power given to him to judge. In short, since rich store of every kind of good abounds in him, let us drink our fill from this fountain, and from no other.

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. from the 1559 Latin ed. by Ford Lewis Battles, 2 vols., in Library of Christian Classics, ed. John T. McNeill (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960), Book 2, Chapter 16, section 19, Volume 1, pages 527–528.

04/17/2024

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

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...

04/13/2024

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.

11/21/2023

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 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...

10/26/2023

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 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...

09/25/2023

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.