CORE BELIEFS
JESUS.
The culmination of everything I believe and understand about God and His world is Jesus Christ. He’s our Creator and King. He’s my Lord and my friend. He's my Savior and hope. He made us, holds us together and makes sense of life. He is the center of our lives, our only way to God and our promise of eternal life. He is fully God and fully man. He is our life, our way and our truth. He must be the center of our church, our community life together, and the reason for everything we do in ministry. He is our Shepherd and as pastors we are His under-shepherds sent to feed and care for His sheep.
WORSHIP.
I believe Christ must be the center of all our gatherings and that the truest expression of our love for Jesus is worshiping Him together as His Body. Well-crafted sermons, music performances, and ministry programs will definitely have their place in our gatherings, but the measure of our success is biblically-informed worship in spirit and truth where led by the Holy Spirit we freely offer Christ our best in response to all He is and all He has done, is doing, and will do for His people. Worship is not only singing songs of praise or even the Sunday service, but it is how our lives are oriented rightly toward God in covenantal relationship as we rightly respond with all we are and do to all He is and all that He has done, is doing and will do.
EVERYONE.
Every human is equally valuable, equally welcome and equally in need of Christ Jesus. We are all completely lost sinners who need to be found by God. We all need to be loved by Jesus and reconciled to God in repentance, faith, and his wonderful mercy. Those who follow Jesus aren’t any better in and of themselves. Not at all. We’ve just found out Jesus meets our core needs, is the living God who who seeks to be in relationship with us, and is our only way to a vibrant, living relationship with God. And I don’t want anyone to miss out on that.
COMMUNITY.
God chose people—specifically a community of people called the Church—to carry out His mission on Earth. That means the local church is meant to be God’s direct expression of love and acceptance to the world, and anyone who considers themselves a Christian should be an active, contributing part of a local church. What connects us across all of our differences is Christ. We welcome. We encourage. We love. We challenge. We help. We grow. We're transformed. Together, in community, united by Christ Jesus.
MISSION.
I believe that lives centered on Jesus will naturally disperse. Any eternal difference we can make as the church in this broken world will come from us obediently following how Jesus sends us out. My hope is that people will come to our church, but believe that as the church we are sent out in God's great mission to go into all of our communities to spread the truth about Jesus and serve those around us with His compassion, grace, and love. This mission also includes daily walking in the Spirit, with power and truth, and the Word written across our hearts through the constant abiding to which Jesus called all disciples. God, I do believe, is much more concerned with who we are becoming than the goodness we're trying to do. Or to put it another way, we're more fit for mission the more we're growing in Christlikeness.
BIBLE - I believe the Bible is given by inspiration of God, and is infallible; it contains the revelation of God’s will and His perfect salvation for man; it is the ultimate authority and guiding principle for our Christian faith and living as the perfect standard for all human conduct and behavior. I believe that the Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, is the divinely inspired Word of God. It is trustworthy for faith and practice when interpreted responsibly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit within the community of faith. Scripture reveals who God is, what He has done in history, who we are, our sins, and our great need for a Savior. The Bible clearly reveals all we need to know of the essentials necessary for salvation and the basics of how to conduct our lives. The primary purpose of the Bible is to point to and glorify Jesus Christ, the living Lord of the Church.
GOD - I believe God is the One and only true God and is the Triune God in three co-equal, equally divine Persons of the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit respectively.
The FATHER, Almighty God, is the beginning and the end of all creation; all is of Him, by Him, and for Him.
The Son JESUS CHRIST is both true God and true Man. He was born by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary; He obeyed the will of the Father God and died on the cross as an atonement for sinners, the righteous substituted for the unrighteous so that because of His precious blood all who believe may be justified. According to the Scriptures Christ rose from the dead on the third day, thus destroying the devil who held the power of death; He ascended on high, led captivity captive, and is now seated on the right hand of the Father God. Christ is the sole Mediator between God and man, and only through Him may believers enter the presence of the Father. He will come again to establish His Kingdom of glory.
I do believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, sinless in His life, making atonement for the sin of the world by His death on the cross. I believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into heaven, His high priestly intercession for His people and His personal, visible future return to the world according to His promise.
I believe the HOLY SPIRIT is God. After His ascension Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit, as promised by the Father, to the world, who reproves the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; all who believe in Jesus Christ receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and are baptized by the Spirit into the Body of Christ; He is the Comforter for believers, who leads believers into the truth, and gives all spiritual gifts to build up the Church.
HUMANITY is all fallen and totally sinful. The first man Adam, who was made in the image of God, sinned and fell into judgment; through him sin and death entered into himself and all his descendants. As a result, all of mankind needs salvation as none can save themselves from the punishment and dominion of sin.
Humans are saved by God's GRACE. God, out of His mercy and loving kindness, has prepared for man a savior Jesus Christ; through His redemption all who believe in Jesus Christ are justified by God and receive eternal life. Salvation in Christ comes through REPENTANCE of sin, the unmerited forgiveness for our sins, and all of this through faith in Jesus.
SALVATION is then only through Christ. Owing to universal death through sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again. A new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word, is absolutely essential to salvation, and only those thus saved are children of God. I believe that the new birth of the redeemed Christian believer comes only through faith in Christ. This is a salvation from our sinful condition, our utter lostness (Luke 15), our current alienation from God, and our eternal separation from God.
I hold that eternity is how long we were created to exist with God. We will either be separated from Him by sin, or with Him through the forgiveness He freely offers in Jesus. To be separated from God eternally is hell. To be with Him eternally is heaven. (John 3:16; 1 John 2:25, 5:11-13; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15)
I believe the CHURCH is the Body of Christ. Christ is the head of the Church, and the Church is the Body of Christ, the fullness of Him that fills all in all; all who are saved are baptized through one Spirit into one Body, worshiping and serving God according to the will of God and with the gifts received, testifying for Jesus Christ “the Word became flesh”, carrying out the Great Commission, living out the Great Commandment, building up the Body of Christ, until the return of Christ.
WHAT ABOUT SOME BIG ISSUES?
I am happy to discuss and expound on these and other common theological issues at length.
BAPTISM is for believers in Jesus Christ who have repented of their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, Redeemer, and Lord. It is a public sign of this decision, I think best done before the Body of Christ as testimony. I believe this should be understood as an ordinance in that it does not bestow upon us any holiness or salvation in and of itself. While I understand the traditions and arguments in favor of infant baptism, I do not believe there is biblical or theological grounds to accept infant baptism. I do believe our best biblical witness is for immersion.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS have recently been abused with a "charismania" that is troubling (Toronto Blessing, Todd White, NAR, Benny Hinn, Todd Bentley, etc.). That said, I do not find biblical evidence for cessationism. We serve a mighty God who is sovereign and can interact in history in miraculous ways today as much as He ever could. We should be careful to rightly interpret, judge, and live out any spiritual gifting with a firm understanding that these are not for personal gain or devotion but to edify God's church. Are their manifestations leading to truer worship and greater discipleship and unity in the Body?
WHAT ABOUT MARRIAGE & SEXUAL IDENTITY?
Due to recent controversies, concerns and confusion in culture and churches across our country, I find it necessary to clearly state my beliefs on these issues. I welcome all to church, community, and into a saving and restored relationship with Jesus Christ. I welcome loving dialogue, and am always free to discuss with you in person my beliefs and how I came to them. I believe these and testify to them with my life, friendship, and ministry.
I believe and accept that marriage is according to the Bible the permanent, exclusive, comprehensive, and conjugal “one flesh” union of one biological man and one biological woman, intrinsically ordered to procreation and a biological family, and in furtherance of the moral, spiritual, and public good of binding father, mother, and child.
I believe and accept the Bible's definition of sexual immorality as sexual acts outside of marriage which are prohibited as sinful. Consequently, we must resist and refrain from any and all sexual acts outside of marriage — including cohabitation, adultery, fornication, pornography, polygamy, polyamory, sologamy, or same-sex sexual acts. I don't discriminate - "straight" sexual sins are just as serious and sinful as any other sexual sins.
I believe God designed and defines sexual identity. According to the Bible, God created mankind in His image: male (man) and female (woman), sexually different but with equal personal dignity. Consequently, believers are to affirm their biological sex and refrain from any and all attempts to physically change, alter, or disagree with their created predominant biological sex — including but not limited to elective sex-reassignment, transvestite, transgender, or non-binary “genderqueer” acts or conduct. I do not believe that the temptation or struggle with these identities are themselves sinful.
I believe God does not approve of same-sex sexual acts or romantic relationships. God created and ordered human sexuality to be between one man and one woman in a committed, covenantal marriage relationship. I believe the Bible is clear that same-sex acts are sinful and violate God's design for human sexuality. I believe that we must affirm the sexual complementarity of man and woman and resist the temptations to same-sex sexual attractions and refrain from any and all same-sex sexual acts or conduct, which are all intrinsically disordered, no matter how much the world sees them as loving, committed, and normal. Here too, I do not believe that the temptation or struggle with these attractions are themselves sinful.
I believe we are all fallen and all can be redeemed by Christ. I believe this includes our sexual redemption. We know that according to the Bible all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Through Christ, redemption, forgiveness, and spiritual cleansing is available for all sins, including all sexual ones.
I believe all are welcome in God's house. Though we might disagree with certain lifestyles, we as Christians should gladly welcome and treat with respect, compassion, and sensitivity anyone who comes into our community, including anyone who conducts or struggles with sexually immoral acts, sexual lifestyle issues, and sexual or gender identity.