Jesus said this, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28). The leaders of RBC joyfully recognize that Jesus Christ is the Head of the church. We earnestly endeavor to follow His example, obey His teachings, and lead RBC into doing the same.
We believe in qualified leadership
The Bible sets forth qualifications for those who would hold the office of pastor (elder) and deacon in the church (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5). Motives and character matter. Those who would be spiritual leaders at RBC must meet these criteria.
We believe in plural leadership
Christ’s apostles taught, by example and command, a plural form of church government. In other words, the Bible teaches that church leadership is shared among a number of men (Acts 11:30; 14:21-23; 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23; 16:4; 20:17, 28; 21:18; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim 5:17; Tit. 1:4-5; James 5:14; 1 Peter 1:1-2 w/ 5:1-5).
We believe in male leadership
Although this last point is greatly contested today, we believe that church leadership is designed by God to be male leadership, as taught and modeled by Jesus and His apostles. Men and women are both made in the image of God. Men and women are equal in personhood, dignity, and value, but are distinct in their God-given roles. We believe that the male leadership of the family (Ephesians 5:22-32; Colossians 3:18-19; Titus 2:1-5) is also meant to be exercised in the church (Luke. 6:12-16; Acts 6:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:8-15). Therefore, we only have biblically qualified men serving as pastors (elders) and deacons.
RBC Pastors
Allan Kenitz’s Testimony
I’m a sinner saved by the grace of God. I do not want to glorify my time spent in sin and reminisce over those years. It is sufficient to say that I was enslaved to drugs and that I was a blasphemer. I was one of the obvious bad guys. No one doubted where I would go if I died. I deserved nothing but wrath and condemnation, but God extended an amazing amount of mercy and grace to me, even though I resisted Him with all I had. Thankfully He is more powerful than I am. He delivered me from my sin and brought me into His glorious light. I am forever thankful for the cross of Jesus Christ!
Don Tinney’s Testimony
I existed for my first 38 years without God. I use the word existed because I did not experience life as God defines life in the Bible. I didn’t know God and wasn’t sure God even existed, even though my family went to church every Sunday.
Observing everyone and everything around me, I concluded that life was all about learning how to play the game, learning what to say and what to do to get what I wanted. Whenever I was getting what I wanted, life was good. When I wasn’t getting what I wanted, life wasn’t good, so I worked harder to master the game and fill my life with happy experiences. But, as time passed, I wasn’t happy. I felt empty and miserable.
One day, when I was 38 years old, I heard a preacher say, “You want all the blessings, but you don’t want the Blesser.” That statement described me perfectly. I wanted every good gift I could get, but I didn’t want God to have any control over me because I believed I needed to be in control.
Shortly after that, I prayed a simple prayer to God. I told Him I didn’t want all the blessings. I wanted Him.
There’s a verse in the Bible that says, “The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.” My relationship with the LORD started with that prayer and has continued to grow stronger to this day. His message in the Bible, His good news, became very real and personal to me. I became a new person that day, filled with a joy and peace that was, and still is, inexpressible.
Josh Armstrong’s Testimony
There are 4 words I will forever stand in amazement at: Christ died for ME. For as long as I can remember, I always believed there was a higher being “out there” watching, listening, taking notes of my life. And I always believed He was happy with what He saw and heard. I had my bad days where I said the wrong thing or broke some rule in my house. But mostly, I felt I lived up to God’s standard. My parents divorced when I was young and my mom re-married when I was 5. Yet my family life was pretty normal. I was happy.
And yet God described me this way: “… unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice…envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness… gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” (Romans 1)
That was me. And yet in the Lord’s kindness, through my mom’s invitation, when I was 14 years old He led me to a church where I learned that all this time I’d really been living for myself, craving attention and love from this world. I was a sinner deserving of the just and holy wrath of God. Yet Christ died for ME to wash away my sin against Him and place me not where I deserve (hell), but adopt me into His family, declaring me guilty no more. God granted me faith to believe and my life now belongs to Him.
Christ not only blessed me in Christ, but He continued to show off His grace in giving me a loving wife (Janelle) and four kids (Katy, Titus, Anna and Josiah). He has also amazed me in calling me to now care for HIS family here at Reformed Baptist Church, a responsibility that humbles me and brings me great joy. I greatly respect the men on the eldership team and am excited to partner with them in equipping the saints to treasure Christ, grow in Christ, and proclaim Christ.