Isaac's Keep | Reformed Canton Church in Downtown Canton, GA

#6 Communicate the “neo-Calvinist” tradition to the next generation in a revitalizing way.

Just a few weeks ago I was shocked to read that Time Magazine wrote the #3 idea that is changing the world is New Calvinism.  It doesn’t really validate the calling as much at it encourages me.  When I first wrote down my call in 2000 I wrote out my conviction to doctrines and truths that often fall under the banner of Calvinism.  I wrote that I would not be ashamed of these doctrines no matter how misunderstood they may be because I believe first in the truth revealed in Scripture and if that happens to fall under a label of Calvinism, so be it.  As the years passed I found that indeed being labeled a Calvinist helped people to classify me and put me away as some foreign class of Christian.  That convinced me of the need to communicate doctrine and truths that may indeed fall under the label of Calvinism in a new, revitalizing way to the next generation.

I must communicate and live contrary to the stereotypes given to Calvinists, which isn’t really hard because the stereotypes are usually just straw men.  The way to communicate truth or conviction is not by arguing, I tried that method and it didn’t work, but to be truly Calvinist in word and deed by simply applying the truth to my life and methods of ministry.  What I’ve found is that living out these truths, letting these truths shape the methodology and the ministry of my life has been far more convincing to people who otherwise don’t like Calvinism or have misunderstood Calvinism.

So I am encouraged that an applied Calvinism (isn’t even new, Abraham Kuyper was doing this long before it was ever cool)  which is what is being termed New Calvinism or Neo-Calvinism, is getting some attention.  I don’t think anyone should cry victory quite yet, but we can rejoice that truth is at least being noticed.  The ministry of so many others like John Piper, Al Mohler, Mark Driscoll, and Matt Chandler is largely responsible for this attention, “the passion of evangelicalism lies in the new Calvinist,” and I simply want to continue being a part, living out the truth of God’s Word and letting the labels fall where they may as long as the glory is God’s.  The day of apology for being labeled a Calvinist must end, and living out the truths of God’s Word must continue.  I love communicating applied Calvinism to others, to see the freedom that bibilcal truth brings into a person’s life is truly remarkable.

When people ask me where I attend church and I say “Isaac’s Keep” the typical response is “Huh?”  It isn’t your run of the mill church name, in fact it doesn’t even have the word “church” in it, which sounds a bit outlandish, especially to the ears of folks raised in the south.  But trust me, there’s a reason for that.  There’s a reason for pretty much everything we do, and don’t do, at Isaac’s Keep.  So let me tell you about this one.

The name “Isaac” comes from the promised son of Abraham, and denotes that we are people of the promise, just as Isaac was a son of the promise, a covenant people, Romans 9 stuff if you will.  But you can read more about the Isaac part here and here.  What I want to focus on is the latter part, “Keep”.  Why do I call my church a “keep”?

First, we have to look at what the word “keep” means (the noun, not the verb).  One definition is “the innermost and strongest structure or central tower of a castle”.  So a keep is strong, it is fortified, it is a place where the people can go and be safe.  Wikipedia notes that, in medieval times, a keep was “often…the most defended area of a castle, and as such may form the main habitation area, or contain important stores such as the armory, food, and the main water well, which would ensure survival during a siege.”

The writers of the Psalms used a similar picture of a tower to describe God.  “For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.” (Psalm 61:3)  “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” (Psalm 18: 10)  Ultimately, God is the strong, fortified place we can run to, the only place we can go to “ensure survival during a siege.”

But, why use it in the name of a church?  Simply because that is what we desire our church to be.  A keep, a strong tower, a refuge from the onslaught and siege of the world around us.  We want Isaac’s Keep to be a place where believers can and will come for relief, peace, encouragement, and rest.  We want this body, this family of believers, to be a place of refuge, not another exhausting activity to add to your already enormous list of activities.  We want this to be different.

It is our hope that the members of the body of IK are out facing the onslaught on a daily basis, living out the gospel in their community and world in a way that glorifies God.  It is also our hope that IK is a place of refuge for them, it’s the Word of God in people that are a source of encouragement to them, and taking shelter within it’s walls, if even for a short time, refuels them and enables them to face the world once more.  That is truly what IK is for me, and I am glad to call The Keep my home.

written by Paula Nix

By God’s abundant grace, Isaac’s Keep officially turned two. Two years since we took the step of corporately worshiping together as a core group, and wow what an incredible journey this has been so far. Here’s a little taste of what has occurred since the start.

We started by pretty much throwing out the textbooks and asking one simple question, “Is God really enough?” God moved in a small group of families studying His Word for over three years, and He moved us to consider the truth that He is the goal, plain and simple. We all said, “Yes!” with our lips, but I think we were all challenged to see if we really meant it. I mean, we live in comfortable suburban Atlanta, needs meet, luxuries at every corner, including within the church. We were part of a good church, under a wonderful pastor, with all the ministries one could really hope for. But I believe that question, “Is God enough?” haunted us. I know it did me.

So the experiment began, what if we planted a church in this comfortable community with churches on every corner? Mega-churches, country churches, hip churches, etc. What if we stripped away everything but the Word of God? What if we started with the Word alone, the revelation of God? Yes, idealistic. But would God be enough or is that just naive? No children’s ministry, no staged music ministry, no youth ministry, no old timers ministry, nothing but the Word. Without a projector, a sound system, a cool brand, or a hip pastor, much less staff. What if we didn’t allow buildings and salaries to dictate the direction of the church? What if we not only believed the gospel and the doctrines of grace, but applied them to the church, and didn’t hide behind them as if ashamed? What if we didn’t find any denomination or association or conference or convention to support us? That sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it? Now, we never believed any of those things were inherently evil or necessarily bad things, in fact most of those things are great blessings, but what if we didn’t have those common luxuries, what if those blessings were actually what we were worshiping instead of God. Our heads and hearts said we wanted God alone, that He is enough, so I guess we wanted to see if that was really true?

Well here we are, two years later, small but growing. No, not that kind of numerical growth. Seriously, did you read that last paragraph? You think that fits Christianity in southern suburbia? Let me answer that rhetorical question for you, NO! Numerical growth has been comical and downright sad, but we threw that out as a measurement of success long ago. Why? Because numbers can be a false idol and sometimes can say more about the community and church-style than about God and His work. Remember, we wanted to see if God is enough. We were willing to sacrifice the false hopes of numerical growth for the sure hope of biblical faithfulness. I don’t believe God is going to ask us how many were at church, He’s going to ask what we did with those He gave us and with the instructions He gave us. We think that’s far more important than trying to create a circus and calling it church just so a lot of people will show up, be manipulated by a show with a little Jesus thrown in, only to leave feeling better about themselves but not redeemed.

So we have only added one member family each year, failure by many standards, but we have grown immeasurably in terms of our progressive sanctification, being redeemed, becoming more like Christ. And not in some falsely pious parted-hair way that speaks holy talk. But in our desire to make much of God by our affections; knowing Him, loving Him, and living for Him. How do you measure that? Look at the lives of the people who make up the church. What are they pursuing? Is Jesus added into their lives or is He their lives? IK has someone from nearly every member family who is currently considering or is moving forward in the calling of ministry that goes beyond attending church or work. Many at IK are considering taking even more drastic steps toward laying down their life for the glory of God. As the preaching elder, this has been my greatest blessing, an answer to prayer. I would love for Isaac’s Keep to be a church that is truly a keep, a place to be faithful, a place to maintain our established covenant position in Christ, to continue without interruptions our covenantal lives, to maintain the biblical practices of the church, to be alert and watchful of our context but not driven by it, and to support the spread of covenant grace, salvation, and worship to others. May God bless Isaac’s Keep as a refuge that strengthens believers in the truth of the Word, so that they are prepared for a life of spreading the glory of His grace. That we would see and know that missional living isn’t just a buzz word for being cool, relevant, or hyper-contextual, but is a radical calling to discipleship to lay down our life daily, to take up the cross and follow, to die to self in order to live for Christ in the context of the life that God has given us.

I’m still not exactly sure what God has for us into the future, perhaps we are nothing more than a house church, perhaps we are still laying a foundation for greater things that are yet to come, perhaps this is exactly what God desires of Isaac’s Keep and we shouldn’t concern ourselves so much with future plans but simply rely, place our faith upon His future grace, it’s as sure as salvation, and then pursue Him with every ounce of our being. I’m convinced now after two years that we have at least realized that we can be a church without the peripherals. That God can be worshiped and known corporately even if we only show up, read His Word aloud, pray, and hear the Word preached exegetically and expositionally. That we can be a church if we simply but profoundly covenant our lives together for the gospel.

We have come this far by faith and I believe that the words we said with our hearts two years ago, “Yes God, You are enough!” have been shown true with our lives. For that I praise God for His faithfulness. And now I believe it is time that we might begin enjoying more of His blessings, now that we have tasted and seen just how good God is alone, I think we can properly enjoy and appreciate some more of His blessings without making them idols. But let us always be reminded that where we have started, with God alone, is always where we should end.

Welcome to the website for the church of Isaac’s Keep. We are a new church plant in historic downtown Canton, Georgia seeking a vision of God to be strengthened and spread by the gospel of Jesus Christ.


Isaac’s Keep currently worships on Sundays in Historic Downtown Canton at the Cherokee County Arts Council, 94 North St, at 6:00pm.