Theological Commitments
While I have been intentional about pursuing theological and ministry training in a variety of traditions, I consider myself a conservative believer, pastor and instructor - with a high view of Scripture, an orthodox view of God, and an evangelical view of salvation.
I have written and signed any number of "Statements of Faith" (see below), but my core beliefs are key to who I am, how I think, how I live as a person, and how I serve as a pastoral leader. These core commitments include the following:
Trinitarian God and Life. Scripture and Christian thought reveal God as One but also as a plurality, a divine community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This reveals God as a God of relationship and a God of community. The perfect intimacy and unity of God is reflected in all God made, supremely in humankind. We are made for relationship - with God first, then with other human beings and the rest of God's creation. We are made for community, not for autonomy. In fact, the essence of sin is self-centeredness.
The Creator and the Creation. God is self-existent; the existence of everything else if derived. God exists primarily outside of all God has made. God created, not out of necessity but as an expression of God's love. Everything in creation is intended to reflect the glory of God in some way. All things have been created with a divine purpose. There are no acccidental creations. All created things are limited and finite. God is God and we are not. However, human beings are unique in reflecting the image and likeness of God with a divine mandate to share in God's nature and authority. Sin has significantly derailed God's purpose for creation; redemption through Christ is buying it back.
The Centrality of Christ. From all eternity the "Second Person of the Godhead" was purposed to both summarize God and summarize humankind by being "fully God and fully man." When he was poured into humanity on that first Christmas morning Jesus became the bridge between God and humanity, the means to fully restore God and humanity back into full fellowship and harmony, and ultimatly to restore all creation back to God's original purpose. All things were made by and for Jesus. All things are summed up by and in Jesus. He is the Beginning and the End. He is the Word of God, the perfect revelation of God. He is the Perfect Man, the fulfillment of God's purpose for humankind, the Head of a new human race. He alone is worthy to receive our worship and service.
The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture. Because God is love and because God loves God's human creatures, he has chosen to reveal himself in a variety of important ways. Generally, God has revealed himself in his creation, in human history, human conscience, etc. By far God's most perfect expressions of himself are to be found in the historical person of Jesus Christ and in God's written revelation, the Bible. The writing of sacred scripture is a result of God's "breath" inspiring human authors, God breathing in and through them, to provide an authoritative revelation. It is God's very Word, to us and for us. God's Word is the final authority for all matters of faith and practice in our relationship with God. Everything we know to be true about God is to be found in God's Word.
The Rule of God. Because God has made everything, God owns everything and is ruling over everything. True life can be found only under the rule of God, a life of personal loving obedience, a life of submission to the Lordship of God through Christ. "The Kingdom of God" is the primary subject of Scripture and the teachings of Jesus. Restoring a right relationship with God as created, finite beings under God's authority, is the role of both Christ and Scripture.
God's Kingdom Community. God establishes real relationships by making covenants. Covenant relationship is not just about a personal, individual relationship with God. Every covenant God has made has had the effect of bringing into being a covenant community. That community was an instrument of God's Kingdom, empowered to express the nature of the Kingdom and extend the influence of the Kingdom in the world. While God's Covenant Community in the Old Testament was the nation of Israel, the New Covenant Community is the Church. The Church and the churches exist to be instruments of God's Kingdom, and in that sense, a means to an end and not the end itself. The church is faithful to the extent that it faithfully represents the rule of God and life under that rule.
Redemption and Restoration. Sin is simply any attempt to live independently from God. The essence of sin is self-centeredness. When our first parents declared their independence from God, the result was death and corruption in all of creation. For that reason, it is impossible for human beings to be the source of their own salvation. If God had not taken the initiative to bring restoration to humanity, all would be lost. But God . . . having an everlasting love for his sinful human creatures, sent his own Son to become a sinless human being and to die a sinless death to provide life for all who come to the Father by faith in Jesus. God's purpose is to ultimately restore every aspect of creation to its original good and perfect purpose, human beings once again taking their place as children of God.