A few years ago, the Worship Design Team encouraged me, and it became a practice that on the third Sunday of each month, we as a congregation would recite an Affirmation of Faith. In our hymnal we can find ten Affirmations of Faith. The one we recognize most, the Apostles Creed Traditional version, has been a part of Christian prayers since almost the beginning of the Christian Church. From time to time, I find other Affirmations of Faith that are engaging as I reflect upon what I believe. Some of these affirmations are exceptionally beautiful and at times they may deviate slightly from what we find listed in our United Methodist Hymnal as affirmations. Because they are not included in our hymnal and affirmed by our United Methodist Denomination, I refrain from using them in our general worship setting, yet they can be expressions of much of what we believe. I believe on a regular basis that we need to affirm what we believe as followers of Jesus Christ, and so doing it in our corporate worship strives to strengthen our commitment as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Since a youthful age when I first began to work for the YMCA as a professional, I have had the blessed opportunity on a few occasions to hear William Barclay speak at different large gatherings of the YMCA. William Barkley at that time was a member of the World Board of the YMCA and was a noted theologian who published a number of books including the William Barclay Commentary which I have used regularly throughout my time as a pastor. William Barclay’s Commentaries have assisted me not only in studies to become a pastor, preparation for messages that I deliver on Sunday, and also as I prepare to lead Sunday School Bible studies.
William Barkley has an exceptionally good explanation of the Apostles Creed that I would like to share with you in my Pastors Ponderings this month.
The Apostles’ Creed
So much was this the case that the statement of beliefs became embedded in what we know as the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe… In Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary…” As it stands, the Apostles’ Creed is a fourth or fifth century summary of the Christian faith. They took its name from a legend passed down to us by Rufinus, an Early Christian Church leader and writer. Rufinus says that while the apostles were still alive, soon after the ascension of Jesus, “The Lord commanded them to journey to separate countries to preach the word of God.” When they were at the point of taking leave of each other, they first settled on a common form for their future preaching, so that they might not find themselves widely dispersed as they would be, delivering divergent messages to the people they were pursuing to believe in Christ. So, they all assembled in one spot and being filled with the Holy Spirit, drafted a short summary, each contributing to the clause he deemed fitting: “They decreed that it should be handed out as a standard teaching to converts.” This is most likely a legend; but this much is true, the substance of the Apostles’ Creed was in fact the Confession of Faith used by the early church as early as AD 150 and required of candidates for baptism.
The church still today uses the Apostles’ Creed and other Affirmations of Faith as statements to what we believe and we as United Methodists recite the creeds or parts of the creeds at various times, at baptisms, confirmations, on special church holy days and in special religious contexts.
I would encourage you to take the time during your study or meditation to look at the Apostles’ Creed and other Affirmations of Faith and meditate upon each of the statements contained within them. I will be doing the same and from time to time including the statements found within the affirmations as part of the messages that I deliver to you each Sunday morning. It would be my prayer and desire that by doing so we can strengthen our commitment to Jesus Christ to be disciples for him and the transformation of the world. Just as Jesus commanded his disciples in Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and said to them, “Authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Claybanks United Methodist Church 