Core Values

Love God, Love One Another

Authenticity | Diversity | Inclusivity | Accessibility | Relevancy | Vulnerability


Authenticity

To be authentic reveals who we are, and accepts others as they are, so that we might grow together and seek God’s truth.

  • Romans 12:9

  • 1 Timothy 1:5

  • John 13:35

  • Jude 22-23

If we love the world the way Jesus does by including the diverse Kingdom of God, we must also support one another in being our authentic selves. Hypocrisy in the church occurs when we think we are supposed to live a certain way as followers of Christ but that life is actually not our own. Valuing authenticity also means we lovingly challenge one another to live as God designed us to live and to bear good fruit. It means acknowledging difficult truths with the understanding that the Gospel provides a way out of despair, and allows us to be both challenging and loving. Authentic to the Christian life is the most important commandment, by which the world will know our authentic selves.

Authenticity is itself an invitation to those not yet understanding of Christ’s love. To allow room for our honest selves – doubt and imperfections and all – we allow each other to grow in relationship to God.

Accessibility

As a means of pursuing inclusivity, we must create accessible spaces for our worship, fellowship, and experience of love.

  • Luke 5:1-3

  • Mark 2:1-5

Not all people have the same level of access to community or worship. Valuing accessibility considers the barriers preventing people from connecting to their church and finds creative solutions to them. Jesus rewards our efforts for greater access in support of those who need it. Accessibility derives from inclusivity. To be inclusive requires us to make accessible opportunities to worship, learn, discern, and experience love.

Diversity

From authenticity comes a recognition of our diversity. Our authentic selves may surprise and challenge, but they demonstrate the complexity and beauty within the image of God.

  • Acts 2:1-21

  • 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

  • 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Not only are Jesus’ values of diversity clear in his gathering of a wide breadth of followers, nor is it simply because his ministry is inclusive of ethnic groups and genders who were previously excluded, but the early church, in receiving the Holy Spirit, is shown through God’s direct intervention that the people of God are diverse.

Diversity in the Kingdom of God is not to be confused with individualism. For in that there exists a diversity of spiritual gifts, there is one Spirit (1 Cor 12:4). The body of Christ has many parts, but we are all united with Christ as the head (1 Cor 12:12-14). To value diversity in the church is to value different perspectives, different opinions, different backgrounds, cultures, and heritages. This value celebrates the beauty in our differences and is governed by the highest value to love God and love one another, uniting us all.

If we are sincere in our acceptance of diversity – and more than that our unity in diversity – then we must also accept a call to be inclusive and accessible to that diversity. It also requires us to be authentic, accepting of our diversity and seeking people to provide their spiritual gifts and their experiences, without fear of prejudice.

Relevancy

By embracing the above values, we immediately begin showing love to the world just as it is. In so doing, it requires us to know the needs of the world and the people in it, thus making the church relevant.

  • John 1:14

God chose to put on flesh at a particular point in time, within a particular culture, within a particular part of the world. The relevancy of Jesus as a Jewish rabbi, who understands the culture and society, aids his preaching and teaching as he shares the Good News. Without cultural relevancy, the Message of God does not transmit to its intended audience. When it does not transmit, it does not translate to the listener. And when it is not translated, it lacks the power to transform people’s lives. A true value of relevancy requires a willingness to do as Jesus does while simultaneously listening to the world in order to know how best to transmit the Message in order to give it a chance at transformation.

As a reformed faith we recognize that the way the Spirit calls us to act may be different than it was a moment ago. Being relevant requires us to listen to how the Spirit moves us, understanding that how we follow Christ may require us to change. Relevancy also challenges us to boldly tackle challenges in the world. It does this through creativity, humility, and tenacity.

Inclusivity

To fully embrace diversity requires us to embrace inclusivity. Christ’s sacrifice was made for all the world, without regard to a person’s identity. So too must our love be widely given.

  • Matt 15:21-28

  • Acts 8:26-40

  • Luke 19:1-10

  • John 4:1-26

  • Galatians 3:28

  • Philemon 17

Inclusivity (“us together”) stands in contrast to prior models of engagement, namely exclusion (“us without you”), segregation (“us vs. you”), and integration (“us allowing you”). The grace of God is for all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, age, and anything else that threatens to spread the lie of exclusivity.

Upholding inclusive practices is an authentic adherence to the arch of God’s broadening love, both as it is made plain in scripture and as the Holy Spirit makes plain today.

Inclusivity requires a willingness to change as the Holy Spirit requires in order to make known the grace of God. Inclusivity is demonstrated by Christ’s sacrifice; he gives it freely to the whole world regardless of identity or past. It is the final vision for the church, one that Paul describes in Galatians 3:28.

Vulnerability

Widely giving love makes us vulnerable to one another. Laying bare our authentic selves create possibilities for love to flourish.

  • James 5:16

  • John 13:1-17

Both service and being served require vulnerability. When Jesus washes the feet of his disciples, he strips away any possibility of being distanced or unknowable. The intimacy of his service demonstrates his true heart for service. And the disciples, in allowing Jesus to serve them, must also allow him to see firsthand how desperately in need of cleansing they are. When we bring our authentic selves before God and one another, we invite sacred possibilities: that of being vulnerable to serve, and vulnerable to being served. With vulnerability comes risk. But we can also remember the common phrase found throughout scripture, “fear not.”