IDENTITY
“Who are we?”
We are a community built on the teaching and practices of Jesus.
In a culture where churches love to complicate language attempting to be distinct and impressive we want to make things as tangible as possible. We want to sacrifice language sophistication or impressiveness for the sake of clarity, “so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom but in the power of God.” With that said, we have chosen for our IDENTITY to be summarized as the above phrase.
“We are a community…”
We aren’t a crowd. We are a community. We are a family. Community isn’t a verb. It is not something we “do” — meaning there is freedom to “do” community or “not do” it. Community is what we are so the true question becomes are we being a good community or a bad one. In Christ, we seek to be a community known by his goodness.
“...built on… Jesus.”
Jesus is the head of the Church. He is King. All authority has been given to him. He is alive! That is the game-changer. If someone predicts their own death and resurrection (explaining it was for our union with the God of the cosmos) and then pulls it off you listen to what they have to say. Because he is alive we live our lives in pursuit of him! Jesus says he will build his church (Matthew 16:18). We choose to trust that Jesus will build us well as we pursue him.
“...built on the teaching and practices of Jesus.”
In Matthew 28 Jesus commissions his followers to go out and train everyone in his way of life and then instruct them to practice everything he has showed us. This is the call for every believer; not just the spiritual elite. If we want to live life to the fullest (John 10:10), if we wish to have lives built on resilient foundations (Matt. 7:24-27) then the way of Jesus is our only answer.