- I believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be at the center of all that we do as believers. It must inform our relationships with one another, our view of ourselves, our understanding of our purpose, and our relationship to God on a daily basis. The truth of the gospel, by nature, is pervasive and must permeate all we do. It must not be relegated to only a place in evangelism (Rom. 1:16).
- I believe that Scripture is the final authority for theology, life and the mission of the church (I Tim. 3:16). Scripture gives the purpose of the church, the boundaries we must not cross in methodology, and biblical patterns that we can follow in living out our purpose.
- I believe that the ultimate purpose of a pastor is to devote himself to the ministry of the Word and to prayer on the behalf of the people of his specific community (Acts 6).
- I believe that the role of pastors is to train and equip the people of their church to do the work of the ministry (Eph 4:11). This requires training toward spiritual maturity as well as training in specific ministry tasks.
- I believe that through the Holy Spirit God gives gifts to the people of the church in order to do ministry in and through the church (Rom 12). It is the job of the leadership of the church to plan for this truth and allow people to exercise their gifts. This not only allows for, but also inspires, creativity and excellence in ministry.
- I believe that teams most accurately foster the sense of accountability, creativity and unity that make people effective. I also believe that teams are an accurate depiction of the relationships in the early church as they worked for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The level of interaction and responsibility between people within a team is significantly different than that of a “group.” I love team-based ministry.
- I believe that the church must not have a fortress mentality. We should not sequester ourselves away with the misguided hope of protecting the orthodoxy of our message. Rather, the church is supposed to be engaging our community and intentionally engaging a dark world with the message of God’s light (John 17).
- I believe that developing a vision and casting it compellingly are a vital part of a leadership style that truly shepherds and moves a community of believers. God’s ultimate purpose for the church is same in every bible believing church, but the identity and specific mission of each community should be different and intentionally used to motivate and unify a body.