Reforming Reformeds

I begin this blog not out of bitterness, but out of love—love for the Lord Jesus Christ, love for His church, and love for that stream of doctrine commonly called Reformed theology, which I count the richest recovery of biblical truth in the last 500 or so years. Personally, my own confessional convictions rest with the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession. Yet I write with deep affection and gratitude for my Westminster brethren. I have profited immensely from the preaching, writings, labours, and examples of many Presbyterian brothers whose faithfulness has strengthened my own walk with Christ. Though we differ in some particulars, I regard them as beloved fellow labourers in the kingdom of God. It is precisely because of that love for all who love Christ, His Word and His Church that I write with sorrow. In recent years I have seen—and heard from many others of—behaviours within ostensibly Reformed churches and associations that are grievously dishonouring to the name of Christ: au...

For more than a decade, Tobias Riemenschneider served as co-pastor of a growing evangelical congregation in Frankfurt. By late 2025, he had been removed from office, excommunicated, and publicly denounced as spiritually fallen—along with a group of long-standing church members. However, the events that led to this rupture were not the result of moral failure or doctrinal deviation, but of a coordinated effort by church leadership to consolidate control, silence dissent, and eliminate opposition. Early Tensions and Attempts to Sideline Leadership The conflict traces back to mid-2024, when co-pastor Peter Schild proposed a restructuring of responsibilities: Pastor Tobias would withdraw from internal leadership and focus on external ministry, while Peter Schild assumed control of the congregation. The arrangement quickly proved unworkable. In the months that followed, Peter Schild repeatedly pressured Pastor Tobias to relocate to Berlin to plant a new church—an idea the latter increasingl...