Our Theology
God – Two words capture what most Christians believe about God: Lord and love. The first describes God’s power. The second describes God’s passion. God has power over all of creation and all of creation belongs to God alone. But, God is not one to use power to dominate or overpower. God is a Lord that is kind and forgiving. God is love (I John 4:16) and is passionate about saving us. We experience God through the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ – Jesus is more than a moral teacher and more than a prophet. Jesus is “God with us.” God’s Son entered into history to show the world that God is near and that God is on our side. Jesus lived so that the sinful could be forgiven, so that the broken could be healed, so that the knocked down could be lifted up, so that the cast out could be welcomed in to God’s kingdom. Jesus died so that we could be free from the sin that causes so much pain in the world. God raised Jesus from the dead so that we could know a new life is possible.
Holy Spirit – God has poured love into our hearts by filling us with the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit is a kind of first taste salvation, like stealing a bite from the kitchen before the feast is brought to the table. The Holy Spirit comforts us with tastes of joy and peace so that even in dark times when we hunger for something more, we can know that God has plans to fill us.
The Church – This is the body of Christ. If Jesus is the brains of the operation, the Holy Spirit forms people in the church to be Jesus’ hands and feet in the world today. Just as God sent Jesus to spread good news of forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace, Jesus sends the church to be witnesses. The church is called to spread the same good news with words and with actions (even though we’re not always very good at it).
Worship – This is the main activity of the church. You don’t have to be perfect to worship. Worship helps us become more perfect in love as we gather to talk with God. Really, all of life is our worship, but we focus our efforts on one day of the week so that we have a better chance of getting it right the other six days. Good worship gives us a taste of heaven where people of all races and places love God with joy and love one another without prejudice or discrimination.
Scripture – The Bible is true in all that it intends to teach. That’s a fancy way of saying that the Bible is not a history textbook or a science manual, but neither is it science-fiction or a fairy tale. The Bible is true and makes no mistakes about God’s love or any of the wonderful ways that God has reached out to the world to show us that love. The Bible is our window into God’s desire to save us and the world.
Sacraments – There are two special ways that we experience God’s love when we worship: baptism and communion (or Eucharist or Lord’s Supper). Baptism is a sign of the work that God promises to do to cleanse, renew, refresh and sustain us through life. We baptize babies (and adults if they haven’t been) because we believe that God loves us before we can even know it and even though we haven’t earned it. Communion is a meal we share with God and with one another that reminds us of Jesus’ loving sacrifice, shapes us into the body of Christ, and gives us hope for the eternal feast of love at Jesus Christ’s return.
Leadership – The Holy Spirit gives gifts to people so that the church can grow and experience unity. Those gifts are the talents that people use to lead and support and encourage others. The Holy Spirit makes the decision about who gets what gift and does not discriminate because of race or class or gender. Anyone whom God’s Spirit has gifted to lead may lead.
Salvation – It’s not just about being in heaven one day off in the future. The really good news of the Bible is that we can experience heaven while we’re still on earth. When we confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead (this is faith) we have peace with God, just like we will in heaven. When we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, kindness and patience and humility grow within us and we love one another, just like we will in heaven. Then, one day off in the future, God will make a home with us and wipe away every tear, mourning and crying and pain will be no more, and even death will finally be no more. That is Christian hope. Even so, come Lord Jesus!