When it comes to the local church, there are probably about as many ideas of what is important and what should be done as there are people in the church.
In response to questions from many people and with the desire to let you know what you can expect from us, here is an attempt to describe the things we stand for and how we go about doing what we do.
Things we are committed to…
The Supremacy of God over all things
HIGH VIEW OF GOD: We proclaim a God-exalting theology, God-centered worldview, and God-glorifying approach to life and ministry.
GOD-HONORING WORSHIP: We cultivate a transcendent worship which produces the fear of God and great joy, often accompanied by singing the traditional, great hymns of the faith. and Christ-honoring/doctrinally rich modern praise songs.
GOD-DRIVEN CONVICTIONS: We promote a passion for God's holy name and a defense of His glorious reputation.
The absolute sufficiency of Scripture in all of life
DIVINE REVELATION: We affirm the full inspiration, complete inerrancy, and total infallibility of Scripture.
BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: We uphold that the Scripture alone is ultimately authoritative for the life of the church and for every believer.
EXPOSITORY PREACHING: We insist that the Scripture should be preached and taught in the power of the Holy Spirit, giving careful attention to sound doctrine and defense of the faith. Therefore we preach and teach in a fashion that exposes the intended meaning of the Biblical text as written by the authors of Scripture, and present it in a relevant and practical way, resulting in changed lives.
SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE: We acknowledge that the Scripture is the sufficient source for all matters of life and godliness, including equipping the saints for spiritual growth, guidance, counseling, and ministry. We believe the Bible has the answers for living godly in the face of life's problems, resulting in obedience and righteous interpersonal relationships.
The Sovereignty of God in all aspects of salvation
RADICAL DEPRAVITY: We hold that man is utterly fallen in sin through Adam's original rebellion, resulting in the total depravity of the entire human race.
SOVEREIGN GRACE: We believe that salvation is rooted in God's gracious choice of undeserving sinners in eternity past, guaranteeing their conversion within time and their glorification for all time.
DIVINE REGENERATION: We maintain that the new birth is a sovereign, supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that cannot be coerced or manipulated by man.
LORDSHIP SALVATION: We proclaim repentance and faith — calling for a decisive break from sin and a full surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, inevitably leading to a transformed life.
HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY: We assert that every person is individually accountable to God for believing upon Jesus Christ.
GOSPEL PROCLAMATION: We believe that the gospel should be preached in all the world to every person, beginning in our own cities and moving outward.
The practice of the Church
PLURALITY OF ELDERSHIP: We believe the Bible teaches that the local church is lead by the God-given authority and wisdom of biblically qualified men united under the lordship of the chief shepherd, Jesus Christ.
FUNCTIONING AS A COMMUNITY OF GRACE: We believe that Biblical Christianity must be lived out in the context of life with other believers in a genuine way, vitally connected to one another in the local church through fellowship, accountability, prayer, discipleship, serving, and using spiritual gifts, resulting in spiritual friendships that stimulate Christlikeness.
CHURCH DISCIPLINE: We hold to the Bible's command to purifying the church from unrepentant patterns of sin in the lives of people through a process of confrontation and restoration as outlined in Matthew 18. We enforce accountability to the standard of God's holiness, resulting in a chaste bride with a vibrant witness.
Who we are not: Ways we may disappoint you
We recognize that there are many fine churches and many Christian para-church organizations which do other things, hold different doctrinal positions and have different ways of doing things. We recognize and accept that there is great diversity in the Body of Christ, and there is therefore a need for us to help you know how we fit with other churches and ministries.
We have come to our convictions through much study and experience, and these basic convictions are thoroughly ingrained in what we do. With great respect for other ministries in the body of Christ, and without a judgmental spirit, we want to be honest in recognizing that some brethren in Christ may not be comfortable in serving with us.
Hence we will "disappoint" some people, and we don't want to mislead anyone. You may not be comfortable with us if any of the following things trouble you…
We are non-charismatic
We do not believe that modern phenomena of "speaking in tongues" or "praying in tongues" fit the Biblical definition of the gift of tongues. Though God is able to do anything He chooses to do, we do not believe that currently there are individuals alive who possess the spiritual gifts of tongues, interpretation of tongues, miracles, or healings.
We believe miracles and healings happen according to the sovereign will of God, but we do not believe that individuals today possess the spiritual gifts to manifest those things as was the case in the early church.
We do not believe that God gives special revelations to the church today through individuals apart from or in addition to what is contained in the Bible.
We are dispensational and premillenial
By dispenstaional we mean that God has a future for the Nation of Israel, and that God is not finished with them. We believe Jesus Christ will return to earth bodily, followed by a literal thousand-year kingdom on earth. We recognize that some evangelicals are amillennial and postmillennial, but we respectfully disagree with those positions.
We believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ — We reject Easy Believism
We believe that the gospel that Jesus proclaimed was a call to discipleship, a call to follow him in submissive obedience, yielding one's life to Him completely, not just a plea to make a decision or to pray a prayer.
We believe that Jesus' message liberated people from the bondage of their sin while it confronted and condemned hypocrisy. It was an offer of eternal life and forgiveness for repentant sinners, but at the same time it was a rebuke to outwardly religious people whose lives were devoid of true righteousness. It put sinners on notice that they must turn from sin and embrace God's righteousness.
It is our observation that much of modern evangelism continues to grow shallower and broader in it's understanding of saving faith. Therefore saving faith is often seen as nothing more than a mere intellectual exercise without any evidence of conversion or commitment to Christ.
However, we believe and teach that the Bible calls men and women to repent and believe upon Christ, surrendering their lives completely to His Lordship instead of just believing in a set of facts concerning His person. We believe the Bible teaches that men are given a new nature in Christ upon conversion. We do not believe that anyone reaches sinless perfection in this life, but we all do continue to battle, not with our 'old nature' but with our flesh.
Therefore, because the Holy Spirit now resides in one who is genuinely saved, there will be evidence of that real faith inevitably in the production of a changed life. Genuine Biblical Salvation includes a transformation of the inner person and his nature. An unbroken pattern of sin and enmity with God will not continue when a person is genuinely born again. Those with Biblical saving faith follow Christ, love their brothers, obey God's commandments, do the will of God, abide in God's Word, keep God's Word, do good works, and continue in the faith.
We do not believe that the Bible teaches that sinners can spurn the lordship of Christ yet lay claim to Him as Savior. We believe this to be a vital issue with eternal ramifications.
The true gospel, can direct men and women into the everlasting kingdom. But, if the message is corrupted, then it can give unsaved people false hope while consigning them to eternal damnation.
We support all parents regardless of how they choose to educate their children
We teach that the non-negotiable biblical standard for parents when it comes to educating children is that the parents must take responsibility for overseeing what goes on. We resist the idea that any alternative (home school, private school, or public school) is innately "more Christian."
