God

We believe that there is one God who eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19; John 1:1, 14; John 14:26; 1 Peter 1:2)

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus is both human and divine. Jesus is God's only Son, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, voluntarily died on the cross for our sins, and was bodily raised from the dead. He provides the clearest picture/understanding of God that we will ever know, because He was God incarnated among us. He was the wisest person who ever lived, and He is the master of life. (John 1:1-18; Acts 2:22-41; Philippians 2:1-11) Every person is invited to become his apprentice in life.

Spiritual Life Today

We believe that God is still active today and communicating through the Bible, His creation, applied wisdom, and fellow apprentices.

We believe that there are spiritual forces of evil at work in the world seeking to distract us from being apprentices to Jesus, his teachings and his way of life.

Church

The church is the gathering of Jesus’ apprentices who encourage, challenge, and love one another on the journey of following Jesus. Because we are all "in process" and nobody has arrived, we are honest about the journey, our struggles and successes.

Bible

We believe God has revealed the truth about Himself in the Old and New Testament.  It is a collection of sixty-six unique books. These books were written over a one-thousand-year period in three languages, with different literary styles, and for different reasons. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21) The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.

Eternity

We live in hope because one day Jesus will return, love and justice will prevail, and God will set the world right. (Matthew 24:30–31, Luke 12:40, Romans 8:37–39, Revelation 21:1–5)

People

We believe all human beings have dignity because they were created by God in His own image, and great worth because they are valued by God beyond our ability to measure. (Genesis 1:27, 31, Psalm 8:3–6, John 3:16, Romans 5:8).

We believe this world also has pain and suffering because human beings have fallen and sinned, and are estranged from God, from each other, from ourselves, and from creation. (Genesis 3:17, Romans 3:23, Colossians 1:21, Titus 3:3)

We believe God does not intend for sin and suffering to get the last word but is at work to redeem and reconcile what He has made. (Isaiah 11:6–9, Colossians 1:21–23, Revelation 21:1–5, John 16:33)

We believe every person is responsible before God for his/her own spiritual journey, their choices and the consequences.

We believe that apprenticeship to Jesus, his teachings, and his way of life is normal and expected for every person who claims Jesus as their Master and Savior. This is a process that involves learning and discerning how to apply Jesus’ wisdom to our concrete, everyday lives. Spiritual disciplines and practices are used by God to create an atmosphere where God’s Spirit can lead people into all truth, wisdom.

We believe that people can be apprentices to Jesus before they believe everything that he taught and everything about who He is. In the gospels, people followed Jesus long before they believed everything that he taught and who he was. We also believe that God’s Spirit is at work in this process, and his Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment.

Debatable does not mean that anything not listed as Dogma or Guiding is “up-for-grabs.” It means that it is not CENTRAL to what we believe (dogma) nor does it provide the framework (guiding principle) for how we “work out our faith” in community.

In other words, our dogma and guiding beliefs provide the clear center (Jesus Christ) and the guiding beliefs by which we can have healthy discussions, and sometimes confrontations, as we each seek to live according to God’s will and direction.

This approach is much messier, and tension filled, than giving simple answers to complex situations. However, as you read through the New Testament of the Bible, you will find that this approach, and tension, was common in the church and among Jesus’s followers.

As our world becomes increasingly complex and nuanced, many Christian organizations are adding more things to their dogma to clear up any confusion. While this approach appears to make sense, we believe that it goes against the model of Jesus.

The Pharisees and religious teachers in Jesus’ employed this approach, and Jesus continually pushed back on it with a simple dogma “love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself.”

We seek to follow Jesus’ approach and put Jesus (The Divine Son of God, Master of Life, Crucified and Resurrected) and apprenticeship to him as our dogma.