Our Values
Our values form and inform the way we live. They reflect our desire for God and express our intention of walking a God-ward life within community. While some values may change over time, the deep, abiding passion to be centered in the presence of God remains constant.
Therefore, we values such things as, but are not limited to:
Attentiveness to God
We seek God’s presence (even in the mundane), as we wait upon, seek direction from, and find satisfaction only in Him.
To cultivate an attitude of listening to God and to better hear his voice, we will engage in regular times of prayer, reflection, and interaction as we strive to hear God’s voice through his Spirit.
To further cultivate worship as a lifestyle, we will regularly engage in corporate worship, where celebrating the Lord’s Supper is one of the central elements. We believe in focusing our worship on the Triune God and on our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that our worship is intended to be a joyful celebration of God’s grace and provides a context for all of our community celebrations (e.g., birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, deaths, births, and other special days).
A Word-centered life
We build our lives upon the living Word, the written Word, and the proclaimed Word of God.
We commit to personal and communal times of hearing the Word of God through the scriptures and in settings that challenge us to be doers as well as hearers. As we aim to “hold the truth in love,” we will strive for that godly balance of confidence and humility found in our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. A Spirit-empowered walk
We strive to respond to and be animated by the rhythm of the Spirit, cooperating with Him as He forms Christ in us and others.
We long to see our naturally self-centered lives replaced with God-centered lives that no longer grieve or quench God’s Spirit within. As we develop an inner ear for God, we learn to respond to God’s movement through a disciplined life.
2. Compassion for others
We strive to step out of our comfort zones on behalf of another.
We respect and celebrate unity within diversity. Therefore, we welcome people from various backgrounds, national and ethnic origins, linguistic groups, and Christian traditions into our community. We seek to learn from them and, when irritations arise due to different ways of doing or seeing things, we will seek to turn these frustrations into opportunities to grow in grace.
Through simple acts of kindness towards one another, sharing of our money or time, prayer, and bearing one another’s burdens, we will learn how to serve. Our service is motivated by our love for Jesus Christ poured out in our relationships. Apart from the Spirit’s grace, we will not bear his fruit.
3. Incarnational relationships
We long to give others a taste of Christ, making the reality of God visible in every aspect of our lives.
We believe the foundation of our other-centered service is love, based upon Christ’s example and command. We will, therefore, seek to love those who come to us and those to whom we go with the self-giving love of Jesus Christ. Through God’s grace, we desire to be a witness to others and seek Spirit-led opportunities to share the reasons for the hope that is within us—the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We also strive to be a healing and redemptive people. Taking to heart Paul’s words in Col. 1:28, we are anxious to “present everyone perfect (mature) before God.” To that end, our community aims to bring the healing presence of Christ—spiritual, emotional, physical—to those in need, recognizing that pain and “desert experiences” are often God’s means of drawing us closer to Him.
4. A life of integrity
We strive to live honest, trustworthy lives, where our actions and inner motivations are led by the Spirit.
In addition to our commitment to one another as embodied in our leadership structures, we commit to mutual accountability for our actions and attitudes, no matter what positions we may hold. When we offend others or divisions in the body arise, even in the most difficult of situations, we will confess our sins to one another and seek forgiveness. As much as possible, we will strive to live in peace with our brothers and sisters, as we create an atmosphere of honesty and safety where there is freedom to admit failure.
5. A life in community
We join with others in our journey of faith.
Because “triune community” is fleshed out in a deepening experience of community among believers, we commit to listening to and respecting each person. As we listen we may not always agree, but we pledge to respect others when opinions differ. We also commit to developing a thankful attitude and sharing words that edify rather than nurturing a complaining and bitter spirit.