Mentor's Manual

44 For the Nex t Generat i on: The Urban Mi n i s t r y I ns t i tute ’ s Mentor Manua l

The Nicene Creed and Its Role in Leadership Development

The dangers of creed-making are obvious. Creeds can become formal, complex, and abstract. They can be almost illimitably expanded. They can be superimposed on Scripture. Properly handled, however, they facilitate public confession, form a succinct basis of teaching, safeguard pure doctrine, and constitute an appropriate focus for the church's fellowship in faith. ~ G. W. Bromiley What is the relationship between Creedal Theology and Scripture? The Nicene Creed, while by no means can either be equated with or a substitute for the teaching of God's Word, is nonetheless a reliable plumb line of the essential claims that make plain the historic ortho- dox faith of the Church. Creeds are NOT equal to Scripture and in both the technical and spiritual sense, creeds in any form ought never to be placed on the same level of importance or place as Scripture. A creed is reasoned discourse, while the Scriptures are revealed truth. ~ Don L. Davis. Sacred Roots Workshop: A creed can, however, be an excellent summary of our historic orthodox faith, which the Nicene Creed, in fact does. Creeds are formally not present in the Bible (though councils and summaries of critical truth are everywhere found in both the Old and New Testaments), but creeds do mean to express essential biblical data and truth. In Christian history, three creeds have taken superior place: the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Creedal Theology can shape our spiritual formation in the areas of baptism (incorporation), catechesis (discipleship), and ordination (laying on of hands), and the Creed has (and continues to) play a major role in our community life. The Nicene Creed is a concise, elegant, and beautiful statement of what the earliest pastors, theologians, and leaders of the Church considered to be the elemental essentials of Christian orthodoxy. Retrieving the Great Tradition in the Contemporary Church . Wichita, KS: The Urban Ministry Institute, 2011. p. 64.

The Nicene Creed and Its Role in Leadership Development