An Institution With A Mission

So what's the Royal Black Institution all about anyway?

Imagine you've just been asked that question. What kind of answer would you be likely to give? I fear that all too many Black Sir Knights might be left struggling for a simple and succinct answer. But not to worry you've now been provided with one in the form of the recent mission statement approved by our Institution's Imperial Grand Council.

It has been Grand Council's view that in developing the work of our Institution in the 21st century one of the things we need to do is to make clear publicly exactly why we exist. So we are encouraging Sir Knights to get familiar with the Mission Statement and even to commit the key points to memory. That way our members wilt not only be better equipped to answer people's questions but they can also be proactive in promoting the Institution's message.

So what are the main things we are wanting to convey by the Mission Statement?

OUR FUNDAMENTAL POSITION

The preface to the Mission Statement expresses something absolutely fundamental - "The Bible... The Rule and Guide of our Faith and Practice". This is the starting point for all we are about as an Institution and it expresses a basic principle of the Reformation. "Scripture alone" was the cry of Reformers in opposition to Romanism, which places the traditions of the church and pronouncements of popes and councils on the same level of authority as the Bible. We are asserting the absolute authority of God's Word, the Bible, in our personal lives, church life and life of our Institution; and the first key point of our Mission Statement speaks of our concern that Black Sir Knights be familiar with the Bible's teaching. We are not to be men with a vague idea about being Protestants, but men with a personal, Bible-based Christian faith.

OUR CHRISTIAN CONVICTIONS

In fact it is the deepening and demonstration of that Christian faith which is at the heart of our mission as an Institution. Our Mission Statement reminds us that by Bible-based Christianity we mean the evangelical Protestantism of the Reformation and this we hold to be something with a powerfully relevant message for today's world. We are called on to not only have a knowledge of the doctrines of the Reformed Faith but to work for the propagation of that faith throughout the world. People should see . . . . .

. . . . .   OUR FAITH IN ACTION

Black Sir Knights, therefore, should be men who have a personal testimony of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and an evangelistic heart to proclaim the gospel to others. However, we are reminded in the latter part of the Mission Statement that this living faith, which we proclaim, is something that will effect our whole involvement in society in general. We will, as a result of our faith, be men committed to charity and generosity and to promoting standards of Godliness in society. We do not, as an Institution, dabble in party politics but we seek to influence the world we live in, reminded by Scripture that "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people". (Prov. 14:34)

The Royal Black Institution is not an organisation wedded to the traditions of the past. We are an Institution with a Mission in the 21st century.

Sir Knight Rev. Thomas Greer

Assistant Sovereign Grand Master