Pastor Rev.John Geaney
Rev. John Geaney accepted the call to be Pastor of Fifth Avenue Baptist Church in Rome, GA, in November 2010. An Oxford graduate, Rev Geaney completed post graduate training in Biblical Exegesis at the Cornhill Training Course in London. During this time he served as an intern at his home church, Letchworth Baptist Church, under the supervision of Pastor Dr. Derek Moore-Crispin. After serving as youth pastor in Leyton East London, then as an associate Pastor in South London, John moved to the US in 2008. John's wife, Stacie, is a native of Rome, together they have four children.
John came to Fifth Avenue in December 2008 as Families Minister. Fifth Avenue ordained Him in November 2009. Following the pastoral vacancy John accepted the request to be interim pastor in June 2010. In November 2010 He accepted the call to be their permanent Pastor.
John's also spends time researching and speaking on God's creation order of the family and it's implication for modern day life. For more infomation see Gospel Family Ministries.
Why I am a Baptist?
I grew up with my Mum taking me to the local Anglican Church which I’m incredibly grateful to God for. If it hadn’t been for those years I would have never had the seed of God’s word being sown into my young life. I would have also never been involved in the youth event that caused some one to ask what I thought a Christian was and then explain the gospel to me. Hearing the gospel then caused me to hear and believe. Shortly after becoming a Christian I went along to the local Baptist Church because I was so hungry to hear the word preached. There God feed my hunger for His word and convinced me of my need to be baptized as a believer. Why? Because of what the bible said. From then onwards I have always identified myself in denominational terms as being a Baptist. Below are 3 main reasons why I’m a Baptist.
1. Biblically orthodox:
There are 3 areas of Biblically orthodoxy that the Baptist Church has stood strongly on despite opposition to challenge what we believe and leaders in other denominations questioning its legitimacy;
The Trinity: This is they major distinctive theology of the Christian faith. Unlike Moorman’s , Jehovah Whiteness’s, Muslims, and Jews we believe that Jesus Christ is both fully man and fully God. None of the above believe that. It is hugely important for us to be able to defend our faith in saying that Jesus was and is GOD! Jew’s don’t believe Jesus was the messiah. Muslims believe he was a prophet. Jehovah Witnesses believe he was a created being. Moorman’s believe he is a god, by being the son of God, but don’t believe that God the Father, God the Holy Spirit and God the Son are one God. They believe in 3 separate god’s.
Jesus has to be both fully man and fully God in order to be able to save us. Nothing else would be good enough, because God has to receive all the credit and glory for everything He has done to rescue us. He doesn’t share that glory with anyone else being part of that rescue mission.
Saved by Faith Alone in Jesus alone: This distinguishes why I am a Baptist even further. There has been and still is pressure placed upon the church today to say that Jesus is not the only way to be saved. That we must be more tolerant in allowing room for other faiths and beliefs to be as equally valid, and too worship alongside them. I see churches all over the west compromising on this issue. A pastor from Rome has seen this first hand when he was asked to be present at a seminar in DC where some very influential figures were discussing the merits of including all religions under one heading of faith. This cannot be so. It is illogical, impossible and an outright lie to say that what a Muslim believes and what a Christian believes can be compatible. They cannot. Jesus’s claims of being the way the truth and the life are exclusive not inclusive. The Southern Baptist Convention, (SBC), has held its ground on this and has not yet engaged in discussions other there being a plurality of faiths each with equal merit of truth.
Also saved by faith alone in Jesus alone distinguishes Baptists from being Catholic who believe we are saved not just by faith but also works of confession to a priest, and partaking in the Lord’s supper where the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Christ. As Baptist we believe nothing can save us apart from faith in Christ in alone. We follow the theology of the bible that was brought to life again by the protestant reformation in Europe.
The Authority of Scripture: Historically the Baptist Church has always held to the authority of scripture as given by God to be its standard and source of right theology. In every single basis or statement of faith this has been made clear, from the Baptist Faith and Message of 2000 back to 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. This means that rather than working out what we believe by an institution, or our experiences, or solely our own individual intellect, we believe what we believe because the Bible is God’s given word, and that there is no higher authority than that. His Word is final.
2. Focused on Missions
The Southern Baptist Convention is one of the biggest mission sending organization in the world. Few other modern day churches put’s anywhere close to the same amount of time, money, and people into mission field as the SBC do. This is so important. The SBC enable us to keep on being focused on the great commission, taking the gospel to the lost.
3. Biblical Order
Believers Baptism.
The bible is clear that the correct mode of baptism is for those who have confessed Christ as Lord and savior. For someone who has shown the fruit of a circumcised heart. We are not meant to hold onto the traditions of Catholic Church history by baptizing babies, there is no scriptural grounds for this. This distinguishes Baptist from being, Methodist, Episcopal, Anglican, and Presbyterian, within which there are many godly Christian people, but who are none the less different in their beliefs of mode of Baptism.
Male headship
Male headship has become eroded in most protestant denominations to the point of which those who hold to male headship in the order of the church are in the minority. Female headship is common amongst most other protestant denominations today. The SBC has though held to this biblical order, in its articles of faith and practices. It’s has not compromised that Men are to be the overseers in the church by the argument of cultural relevancy. God is a God of order and when we start messing with it chaos ensues.
Church Governance
Congregational accountability; although there is the organizational body of the SBC all of the churches that are associated with it are independent. In other words each Baptist Church gets to make its own choices in deciding what it wants to do. The congregation holds its leadership to account not a higher archery structure outside of the church. The overseers are the overseers in other words.
I do not believe that others are out of the fold of the Christian faith if they are not Baptist but I do believe that the historical Baptist principles that have been laid out above are the best practice of biblical orthodoxy and the best representation of the protestant reformation.
All For Him,
Pastor John.
