This link is to the detailed core values.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Statement of Faith
Hello most Beloved of God,
I am writing to you and want to start off by saying I am challenging you that I may captivate you for the moment and hopefully encourage some action. This last Sunday, some of us were discussing a meeting that we have been discussing to get together and discuss somethings we have been discussing. The Vegreer's brought out their family statement of faith to share with us that maybe we can help in editing, spelling or suggestions. This lead to a topic of faith statements for our church. Some of the questions of the past were, who are we? what do we believe? I say "we" now, it used to be "you". As we talked some ideas came up of what could or should or should not be included in the statement of faith. I gotta be honest with you. Someone would mention something and I thought maybe they shouldn't write the statement of faith and was considering moving my chair closer to others I had a suspicion wouldn't agree with that theological line in the sand. Then before I could move my chair the very ones I sought refuge by had some ideas of what a statement of faith should say and I thought maybe that first idea wasn't so bad after all. I know the Vegreer's were sharing a project with us, but hypothetically speaking or writing, if we each wrote out our own statement of faith...I am afraid mine would be the most confusing technical document, I wouldn't even be able to understand it. Yet, out in the world their is a mess of religious ideas that will lead a person straight to hell. Unity is so important and The Apostle Paul preached it because Jesus preached it. But at what expense? Their has to be a place a person can go and know what denomination we are. I know, no one wants a membership or denomination or ties to anything, yet the reality is, humanity was given a mind to classify and name things. God told Adam to name the animals and we didn't stop there. It is better that we name ourselves than letting others be confused until they run into one of our idiosyncrasies (only me of course, none of you).
I overheard Colleen mention the gopher spikes that make a high pitched noise. I bought two of them today, so far the gophers ate two fig trees and two banana trees. It is amazing, I come home and the one day the tree looks beautiful and the next day it is withered, you can walk out and pick it up because their is not a single root to hold it in the ground. One day of no root and you have a dead trees, let alone no fruit or anything. It is so important for us to have roots. It is ok I believe to stray a little but if close enough I want my children to know where they are coming from, not just me but the Body of Christ. I know we are all as individuals but that is not an argument I am trying to bring about. My great point is to look at the root and current foundation and asses it first before moving in a direction. When I first came to you all with my family I asked about your affiliation just as others had. Then I went online and checked it out. I wasn't there to read and understand it all, I was skimming to look for specific things that would tell me to run.(much like some of the things that others would find in my own personal statement of faith).
Today I read the whole website regarding beliefs, core values, vision, history. I am sad that I didn't do this earlier. The great commission churches is where I belong. They have the best statement of faith and core values and church structure that I have seen written. I don't want you to lose this as a foundation church. All that I have come across or been part of at one time or another was not as simple and complete without someones pet peeve attached. I want you to bolster what you already have, don't throw it away or reinvent the wheel. Get out the old document like Ezra did and dust it off and rebuild like Nehemiah did. I am not in anyways saying we are a torn down city, you have to understand I am reading Nehemiah right now, don't look into that too deep.
It has been a very difficult year, God has been doing great works in us all. I believe we will get to do some special works for God. He desires His Glory to be taken to every tribe tongue and nation. This is the mind of God or else Christ wouldn't have let that be His last word's we have with us. If you read the GCC history you will see they come from a missions movement that started in the 70's they say. This is my most favorite and it is where the term 10/40 window came from. What type of a body should we be knowing 40% of the world has not heard of Jesus? I don't believe we were given the technology, finances and desire for no reason, God has supplied much, He will require much. This is the torch I hope will be available to pass to my children if The Lord is willing. One model that i agree with is from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria to the ends of the Earth, I think the Park is the start of this for us. Maybe we can partner with others in GCC that are taking the gospel to the unreached, maybe God would have a special people group for us to have the awesome privilege of taking the gospel to a tribe of people whose ears have never heard the name of Jesus.
Please, read the whole website, let us be united in this. Let us be the GCC Southwest, not shrink away but grow in what we have as a foundation. This was not my foundation, I was from a calvary chapel back round, you can't compare to what is established, I adopt GCC as my families statement of faith and core values and vision and am passionate about the missions movement that I am very familiar with that stated in the 70's.
I should be sleeping, forgive the grammar, I'm an Electrician. I'll email in a day or two the blog info, maybe I can cut and paste this and we can discuss discussing this.
http://gccweb.org/
Your brother and servant of The Lord Jesus Christ
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
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