CRTS: Returning to the Reformed Tradition

While volunteering at the China Reformed Theological Seminary (CRTS), I had the opportunity to audit two seminary classes. Although I was excited to experience what it was like to take classes, I was also apprehensive about returning to the Reformed tradition. In my eyes, the Reformed faith often exuded a spirit of pride and arrogance, touting a theological superiority above that of the other denominations. Although I had grown up learning about the central tenets of the Reformed faith under former Pastor Rich Coffeen, I ended up attending a non-denominational international church when I went to college in Pittsburgh.

Surprisingly, as I sat in on the classes, I found the Reformed tradition to be spiritually refreshing. Instead of hearing fancy, yet empty ideas wrapped up in rhetoric, the truth of the Bible was clearly proclaimed, showcasing the beauty of the gospel. On Sundays, I attended the church connected to CRTS, and the weekly confessional practices again reminded me of the importance of knowing our faith. I will also always remember one conversation I had with an older seminary student. This student had spent many years searching for the “right” doctrine, having served in many different churches that often eschewed biblical truth. Only after many years of searching did he finally decide to become a full-time student at CRTS. When he found out that I was still quite young, he genuinely expressed his belief of how lucky I was to have found the Reformed faith so early on, and how he wished he could have been in my place many years ago. I’m eternally grateful that God in His abundant grace brought me back to the Reformed tradition— the issue for me is no longer one of pride, but of truth: “’Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’” (John 8:32).

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