1. Connected to God Daily

Matthew 6:33 “seek you first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, then all these things will be added to you”

            The Bible: Biblical truth is not just a collection of laws and morals or free-floating exhortations. It has a clear purpose, point and message. We affirm that Christ is the point! According to Jesus all of Scripture bears witness to Him (John 5:39) and is fulfilled in Him (Luke 24:44). According to Paul the central point of his preaching is “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

            In Prayer: Praying is not just a thought towards the heavens, or small mumble under ones breath in recital of poetry. Prayer is the means by which we talk to God and His spirit speaks to us we should always pray! (Luke 18:1; Romans 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

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              In Fellowship: Despite the modern ideology that you can be a Christian and not attend church, the bible says we are to fellowship and to assemble, not slacking as some do. Godly fellowship brings strength. Our adversary the devil is always seeking whom he may devour, and all predators prefer an isolated prey, this stark imagery should tell you that part of being God Connected, is being in fellowship with His people. ( 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:25)

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2. Walking in Truth

In today’s postmodern culture the concept of absolute truth is viewed as “oppressive.” Instead, truth is a subjective “preference” as determined by each individual, without transcendent and fixed absolutes governing everyone.

We affirm that truth corresponds to God’s word and to reality, which necessitates that some things are false(not truth).

Truth is determined by the mind, will and character of God Himself, this is on display in creation(Romans 1:20). God alone is the source of both the material and the immaterial, and He is the final transcendent standard. Jesus Christ, God’s only Begotten Son, is truth incarnate. He is the perfect and ultimate expression of all truth (John 14:6; Hebrews 1:1).

His Word does not merely “contain” truth; it is truth (John 17:17)! There is no difference between the incarnate God (truth) and the written Word (truth). Scripture is called the “Word of Christ” (Colossians 3:16). The Holy Ghost will lead you and guide you and is called the Spirit of Truth( John 16:13).

The Word is inerrant, without fault, inspired and beautiful, and provides all we need for eternal life and godly living. Hence, we affirm that the Bible is transcendent truth applying to all peoples in all times and places. The Bible is the sure guide for all of us, and by God’s truth we seek to understand our world and order our church, lives and families.

 

3. Loving People, Even Broken People

Some consider love a virtue or character trait. But the Bible teaches that love is a spiritual grace produced by God. Love is the crown of the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5); it is the “fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10). We are told to “put on love which is the perfect bond of unity” (Colossians 3:14). As Francis Schaefer wrote, love is the badge, or the mark, of a Christian.

With Paul we affirm that love is the place to start in measuring genuine Christianity (1 Corinthians 13:1-2). Therefore love must be a core value for any church. The apostle provides three reasons for the centrality of love: love is indispensable, love personifies Christ and love is permanent (1 Corinthians 13:1-13).

Jonathan Edwards wrote, it is a principle implanted in the heart by the Holy Spirit that is sufficient to produce every right attitude towards God and fellow man and every right action towards God and fellow man. Without love our pursuit of truth and fellowship become sterile, cold and unlike Christ.

 

How great it is the Words of Peter in 1 Peter 4:8, “ And above all things have fervent love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins

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4. Fellowship & Community

The gospel doesn’t simply bring individual believers into a saving relationship with God, it brings us into fellowship with a Godly community. One that reaches far outside our cities and local churches.

 We are not merely added to a heavenly list or tally when we come to believe. Instead, through the gospel we are baptized into a “body” – the church (1 Corinthians 12:13). We are born by the Spirit into a family. This church family is not simply created for organizational purposes. Instead, all its members are inextricably linked together by virtue of sharing the same Lord, the same Savior, the same baptism and the same faith (Ephesians 4:1-6).

Our culture has made individualism one of its highest values. As a result communities break down, both in the society and in the church. Self-absorption is the problem. As one pastor has explained it, the solar system works fine so long as there is only one center; but if every planet sought to be the center, collision and chaos would ensue….we are not to be the center, but to gather around the center, JESUS!

A.W. Tozer noted that one hundred pianos (although different in style, look, and age)  all tuned to the same fork will be tuned to and in harmony. The same is true of one hundred worshippers each worshipping in Spirit and in Truth.

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5. UNITY

Jesus Christ must be at the center of our fellowship and our community of faith, in order to truly experience community. With Christ at the center we can seek to live continually with a community mindset, putting others ahead of ourselves (Philippians 2:3-5). The gospel creates a community of people who would not come together outside of the influence of the gospel. The diversity within unity created by the gospel is a testimony to the power of God to change hearts and lives and tear down the barriers of color, race, social status and the idol of personal preference.

Paul and David wrote about the importance of Unity. While we must earnestly contend for the faith we must do it with mercy, love and unity (Ephesians 4:3, 13; Psalms 133:1; Jude 1: 1-3).

5. Excellence in Everything

Excellence sounds much more like a business buzzword than a Christian principle. As the Alabama district secretary Rony Roberts says, “It does not cost that much more to go first class.”

And in 1 Corinthians 13 Paul refers to love as the more “excellent way.” And in Philippians he exhorts the believers to think about those things that are “excellent.” The biblical term is used primarily to speak of the “praiseworthy deeds” of God and by extension – mankind. Pursuing excellence involves living and ministering in ways that correspond to God’s “praiseworthiness.”

God desires that we value what is praiseworthy by pursuing moral excellence. The apostle Peter states, “keep your behavior excellent” (1 Peter 2:12). Behavior that is excellent is behavior that corresponds to to God’s word and the life of Christ.  John writes, “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6).

God also desires that we value what is praiseworthy by pursuing vocational excellence. Vocation is what God has called us to be and do! In Romans 12:1 Paul asserts that all of life is worship when he states that Christians are “living sacrifices.” Hence, we seek to give God what is excellent at home, work, and church….this is not mere professionalism but an attitude of the heart.

We offer God excellence in life and ministry when we do whatever we do with the conscious intent of honoring Him (1 Corinthians 10:31), when we do whatever we do as if to present it to Him (Colossians 3:17-18; 20, 23), when we begin by acknowledging the worst that is in us (2 Corinthians 12:9), and when we don’t compromise character and obedience to excel in giftedness (Matthew 23:23).

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6. Humility & Forgiveness

Humility, like love, is a spiritual grace produced by God’s Holy Spirit. In our passion for doing all things excellent to the glory of God we must avoid the pit of pride, unforgiveness, and ultimately bitterness which is a root hard removed. Pride as defined by the writer,  Wayne Mack states, “consists in attributing to ourselves and demanding for ourselves the honor, privileges, rights and power that are due to God alone.”

Humility, on the other hand, seeks the honor of God and regards others as more important than ones self. Biblical humility is grounded in the character of God who robed himself in flesh, as  Jesus Christ, amazingly stooping  down to help the morally bankrupt and spiritually impoverished (Psalm 113:4-9; Philippians 2:5-8).

Humility is a key attribute of “heart holiness.” It is an attitude towards God, gained by arriving at a sense of our own unworthiness (Matthew 5:3). It is recognition of our utter dependence upon God for everything we possess and accomplish (Romans 11:36). It begins with a deepening vision and sense of God’s glory, holiness and absolute sovereignty (Isaiah 6:5).

Humility is essential because it will lead us to rely upon God who alone is true power for life, godliness and effective ministry. With the apostle Paul we can say “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.”

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7. Transparency

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 In order to maintain all of the above values.... Transparency. We believe when churches are not managed properly and with the proper checks and balances, there is room for temptation and corruption. This corruption manifests in abuse of authority, assets, and finances. As such, we believe that a church should be structed where that its members are vested in their giving, time, tithe, and talents! It is not solely upon the pastor to conduct the business affairs of the church (Acts 6:2-4) for His time must be given more to prayer, study and preaching. 

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Thus, we have instituted business practices and policies that allow for Transparency to our membership. This extends as well to our teaching to all members and guests. The why of what we teach will always be answered in love and with anticipation.  We are not afraid of the question no matter how difficult or challenging it may be.... because despite the question Jesus and His WORD is the answer. (1 Corinthians 14:40; 2 Corinthians 8:20-22; Luke 14:28)

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