OUR VALUES:
We know there’s nothing that we can do apart from God (John 15:5) and we also know there’s nothing impossible with God (Matthew 19:26). But it’s easy to think otherwise. So before we do anything, we want to lift our eyes and bend our knees to the One who we depend upon and say not my will, but yours be done.
James asks a great question, What causes fights among us? And the answer is always the same. We want something and we don’t get it. And it’s because of our selfishness that we end up ruining relationships, the very vehicle in which the gospel is communicated most effectively. So because our high value on relationships, we believe they are worth “dying” to ourselves.
We live in a world of self-help everything. It is true some extra amount of discipline and focus can bring about change. But only to a degree. What we need isn’t just a little change, but a true transformation. Only Jesus can give us a new heart, soul, mind and strength to be the kind of person he created us to be. When you encounter Jesus, He will change you.
There’s a lot of myths floating around about generosity. One being you need to be rich to be generous. Another is you need to give a certain amount to be considered generous. It’s really not about how much you have or even how much you give. But rather, the heart behind giving. A generous heart doesn’t see giving as a “have to” (duty) but rather they see it as a “get to” (privilege).
When you understand the gospel, you quickly realize that God has our best interest in mind. So when it comes to rules and obedience from Scripture, we know even though they may be inconvenient to follow, especially in our culture, they are meant for our best and we would be wise to put them into practice.
The Scriptures describe life like a race. Most people end up seeing themselves running an individual race where the goal is to simply get to the finish line. But what if the “race of life” was more like a relay race than we think? What if it’s not enough just to get to the finish line? What if we didn’t really win until we handed off the baton to the generation behind us? We believe the next generation needs our help and we can’t really win unless we pass the baton off well.
How did Jesus end up turning the known world upside down? It was through his spirit filled disciples who went out and made disciples who made disciples. This continues to be our primary strategy in making disciples of all nations.
Jesus made it clear to his disciples, that if anyone wants to be first, they must become the servant of all. Greatness isn’t about leveraging the power you have for yourself, greatness is about leveraging the power you have for others. A “great” question to ask is, What can I do to help you?
We know unity is hard to obtain and even harder to maintain. This is why Jesus prayed specifically for our “one-ness.” Many people think unity means uniformity and that the enemy to unity is diversity. We believe Jesus died for the whole world and that we are called to make disciples of all nations (ethnicities), which means the gospel has the power to unite us all together. And with our oneness in Christ, it will give the world a reason to put their faith in Christ.
