We Seek to Center on Jesus
This means that, both as individuals and as a community, we seek to center our lives on the person of Jesus in what is shared in the Gospels of his actions, his words, and his person. While we believe in a life beyond this one, we believe that Jesus came to first change us and change the world in this life.
- Luke 6:20-21 – Jesus is speaking not about a life to come but a life here
- Matthew 5:13-14 – Jesus speaks to how we are to change this world and not just wait for the future
- Matthew 25:31-46 – Jesus reminds that our work is for this life.
We Seek to Be Open
We seek to be open in two ways. First, to be open to what Jesus wants to do in and through us. We don’t have all the answers and we aren’t perfect. So, we go to the one who can help with our questions and who wants to work to bring us to wholeness in this life and in the next.
- John 5:6 – Jesus asks the mean not simply about being healed but about being made whole
- John 21:15-17 – Jesus restores Peter back to the community even though he had denied Jesus three times
Second, we seek to be open to the world we are called to serve. We don’t believe in putting up walls or barriers but instead following the example of Jesus who lived out what it meant to be open to all people and see the image of God in each.
- John 4:5-26 – Jesus has a conversation with a woman from a group of people considered outsiders and enemies. She is not an “other” to him, but just another human created in the image of God
- Luke 14 – Jesus has a meal at the home of one of those who the Gospels portray as his enemy. He spent time with friend and foe alike.
- Mark 5:24-34 – Especially verse 34…Jesus welcomes a woman who was considered ritually unclean and calls her “daughter.”
There are many other examples of this – Jesus welcoming children, welcoming tax collectors, welcoming the outsider and the outcast, welcoming all.
We Seek to Say Yes (…and)
We want to be a community of yes. Yes, you are welcome and belong here. Yes, we will love and serve the world. Yes, we will be open and creative. Yes, we will respond to God’s call on our lives. But it can’t stop with just saying yes, but it continues to “…and.”
“And” is where the magic happens. We say “yes…and” as a sign that we not only respond to the immediate but we are open to what God is going to do next. Jesus was a “yes…and” person as nearly all the places invites people to follow are “yes…and” places. Examples are
- Matthew 4:19 – Come follow me (yes/no) AND I’ll make you fish for people
- John 8:12 – Jesus rescues the woman caught in adultery and says “Go in peace” but adds “and sin no more.”
- Mark 8:34 – Jesus says we are to follow his example AND to live it everyday.