Briarwood Presbyterian Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Dr. J. Scott Redd, Jr. (Senior Pastor, called summer 2025; Dan Doriani served as Interim Dec 2023–2025 after Harry Reeder's death May 2023)

Founded Unknown

Denomination PCA

Service Times Sunday worship

Men's Ministry Yes

Kids Ministry Yes

Website briarwood.org

Pastor Credentials Ph.D. Hebrew Bible, Catholic University of America; formerly President of Reformed Theological Seminary Washington DC and Executive Director RTS NYC

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

PCA congregation holding to Westminster Confession — Nicene/Chalcedonian orthodoxy.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Westminster Confession — inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture as final authority.

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

'Men of the Covenant' confirmed on homepage as active men's ministry; 'Women of the Covenant' paired program also listed — established gender-specific discipleship.

Strong

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Reformed soteriology per PCA standards; sola fide, substitutionary atonement.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

PCA polity limits teaching elder and ruling elder offices to qualified men; Briarwood is historically a flagship PCA congregation under the late Harry Reeder.

Strong

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

J. Scott Redd confirmed as senior pastor via homepage; elder governance structure confirmed per Presbyterian polity.

Strong

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Expository preaching tradition under Reeder continued through Doriani interim; Redd brings OT scholar pedigree.

Strong

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Briarwood has a long-established missions program including Briarwood Ballet, Briarwood Christian School, and global mission partnerships.

Strong

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Conservative PCA congregation; Reeder publicly opposed progressive drift. No DEI language.

Strong

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Homepage confirms 'a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)' — PCA affiliation validated.

Strong

Assessment

Briarwood Presbyterian Church at 2200 Briarwood Way, Birmingham, AL 35243. PCA megachurch. Dr. Harry L. Reeder III served as senior pastor until his death in a traffic accident in May 2023. Rev. Dan Doriani (Covenant Theological Seminary professor) began serving as interim pastor in December 2023. Briarwood is one of the largest PCA congregations in America with strong Reformed theology, missions engagement, and community impact. Currently in pastoral transition — evaluate who the next permanent pastor will be.

#birmingham#alabama#national#pca

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Rating upgraded yellow → green on confirmed PCA status + named senior pastor + elder plurality + established men's ministry.

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source briarwood.org/about/
[2] Archived snapshot web.archive.org/web/20260124030535/https://rts.edu/news/r…
↳ Snapshot of rts.edu/news/reformed-theological-seminary-celebrates-dr-… (live link)
[3] Live source byfaithonline.com/briarwood-presbyterian-begins-search-fo…

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.