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GUIDING VALUES
We offer these guiding values as principles that have over the years shaped our
church family, the decisions we make, and the ministries through which we serve.
The GospelWe believe in The GospelWe believe God loves us, not just a little or from a distance, but enough to have, first, become one of us and, then, to die for us. Because he has shown us his love in such a convincing way, we can trust him, and we can trust the life he has given us, both in our brightest days and darkest nights.(The Gospel of John, chapters 1-21, esp. 1:1-18; 14:1-9; 20:24-31) ResurrectionWe believe in ResurrectionWe witness to the resurrection and to the resurrected one, Jesus of Nazareth. Death is not final. We will one day enjoy with God a life of heroic adventure with faithful companions in a creation gloriously liberated from all bondage. (Acts 1:21-22; The Gospel of Luke 22-24; Romans 6:1-14; 8:18-23; 1 Corinthans 15; 2 Corinthians 4:18-5:10; Revelation 21-22) RebirthWe believe in Rebirth.We announce that God offers to all men and women everywhere, whoever they are and whatever they have done, the opportunity to start over, to be reborn, to be forgiven, and then to discover within themselves the Spirit of God. (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-14; 2 Corinthians 5:17-19) New WorldWe believe in a New World.As believers we live in a new world lit by resurrection and open to the Spirit of God. Our universe is open to the loving intervention of God, and we are often surprised by joy, by miracle, and by what we had once thought, and others still think, to be impossible. (Ephesians 3:14-19; The Book of Acts) GraceWe believe in Grace.We stand firm in the freedom we have in Christ. We know that we are not under law, but under grace. Accordingly we extend to everyone who seeks God all the help they need and all the time they need to come to mature understandings of faith. We understand that this means that sometimes we will serve and worship in disagreement with one another, but we trust that even this, indeed especially this, leads us more surely to higher and more loving understandings of truth and God’s will. (Galatians, esp. 2:4-5; 5:1; Romans 6:14; 7:6; 10:4; 14:1-15:13; 2 Corinthians 3:1-6, 17-18) DiscipleshipWe believe in Discipleship.We recognize the hunger in the human soul for the high call of Christian discipleship, the desire to prove one’s self against great odds and to take risks so that others may be saved, healed, rescued and liberated. We acknowledge this longing to be bound together with others of like mind and spirit in this most heroic of all purposes. (Luke 9:23-24; 14:25-35; The Gospel of Matthew , esp. 5-7) RestorationWe believe in Restoration.We honor as our spiritual heritage those attempts that began with the birth of our nation to restore the life and spirit of Christianity as envisioned by Jesus and his apostles. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Matthew 16:13-18) Jesus as the WayWe believe in Jesus as the Way.In a world filled with sudden violence and great danger, we realize that it is especially urgent that we recover from the life, death and resurrection of Jesus his truths—truths that encourage trust, forgiveness and love for even our enemies; truths that promote sweet reasonableness in the face of anger and conflict; truths that ease our fears and nurture us to draw strength from change and diversity. (John 14:6-9; Matthew 28:16-20) ScriptureWe believe in Scripture.We understand that Scripture invites us into a living relationship with God. In the ongoing life of our church family, we find it to be always reliable and authoritative. In our efforts to be faithful and truthful in our application of Scripture, we seek to understand each text as it was written, that is, in light of its original intent and context. (1 & 2 Timothy, esp. 2 Timothy 3:16-17) The Love of GodWe believe in The Love of God.We have come to see that the primary human problem is not that we have an angry God who must somehow be convinced to love us but that we are angry people who must somehow be convinced to trust God. (1 John, especially 4:7-21; Romans 1-8) God’s CallingWe believe in God’s Calling.We have learned from Scripture that God calls people not to a status but to a task. Concerns over status have for too long divided us and made us fearful. Instead, God gives us the task of telling everyone the amazing story of God’s love for us as embodied in Jesus of Nazareth. (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians; Amos, esp. 3:1-2; 5:18-6:7; 9:7) Oneness in ChristWe believe in Oneness in Christ.We welcome people from many different backgrounds and life experiences to worship and serve with us. We find our oneness in Christ. As the result of much study of Scripture, we do not restrict roles or assign privilege or status on the basis of birth. What matters to us is not how one is born but that one is spiritually reborn. (Galatians 3:26-28; Colossians) PrayerWe believe in Prayer.We confess that the most important things to be done will not be achieved by our finesse, organization or marketing, but by our calling on the name of the Lord, by our humbly and honestly acknowledging our need for God and by our praying to him to take us over. (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13; Matthew 7:7-11; 18:19-20; 21:18-22; John 14:13-14; 15:7; 16:23-24; Philippians 4:4-13; The Letter of James, esp. 1:5-8; 4:2-3, 7-8; 5:13-16) RecoveryWe believe in Recovery.We are confident that if we give to God our deepest passion and hunger, we will experience true liberation and recovery from addiction, from compulsively sinful habits, and from all that weighs us down and holds us back from being what we were created to be. (Psalm 42:1-2; John 7:37-38; 8:31-36; Selected readings from the Psalms, esp. 1, 13, 23, 46, 51, 120-134) The ChurchWe believe in The Church.We acknowledge that the church, far from being in any sense optional, is the God-given institution for achieving his loving purposes on earth. Consequently, the decisions that matter most and last longest on earth are made in churches like ours, not in the world’s major financial institutions, governmental agencies or corporate boardrooms. (Ephesians, esp. 3:7-4:16; Matthew 16:13-20; 18:19-20; John 20:21-23; Acts 2:42-47; Colossians 2:9-10; Hebrews 10:19-25; 12:22-24) The Safest Place on EarthWe believe in The Safest Place on Earth.We aspire, as a church, to be that place on earth where people feel most safe to discuss openly and honestly their life journeys—both their struggles and their triumphs. Whether in large assemblies or small groups or quiet conversations, we experience acceptance and forgiveness, and we find direction and wisdom from spiritual friends who know us fully and undeniably love us. (Galatians 6:1-5; James 5:16; 1 John 3:11, 16-18) SalvationWe believe in Salvation.We realize now that the arena of God’s salvation is far larger than we have ever imagined. Jesus came to do nothing less than save, rescue and transform the world. His salvation has personal, social, emotional, economic and healing dimensions. God is calling us to raise our vision, to raise our sight lines, and to raise our expectations—to in every way imaginable lift up our eyes so that God’s will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. (John 3:17; Matthew 6:9-10; also John 1:29; 4:42; 6:33; 1 John 2:2; 4:14; 1 Timothy 4:9-10; Isaiah 2:1-4; 11:9; Daniel 2:35,44) We offer these guiding values as principles that have over the years shaped our
church family, the decisions we make, and the ministries through which we serve. |
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