The gospel changes everything. Through Jesus Christ, we can be set free from being slaves to sin and find life and freedom in him. We are brought into right relationship with God and others. The gospel transforms not only individuals, but also churches, societies, and culture at large. It is not just a gate we pass through one time, but a path of ongoing renewal and repentance that we are to walk each day of our lives. {Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18-24}
We become more uniquely our own true self as we become more like Christ.
Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are in Christ. An authentic person is one who is both privately & publicly putting off the old self by God’s grace and putting on the renewed self. This kind of authenticity will capture the culture’s attention, glorify God and help us live out our values from the heart. {Ephesians 4:22-24; Philippians 3:12-16}
Jesus’ disciples were diverse and the early church was multi-ethnic, but our society is increasingly segregated. However, the ground is level at the foot of the cross. Some of the greatest injustices in our world stem from segregation. We will seek to reconcile all things to Christ as we pursue our goal of becoming a multi-ethnic church family. {Revelation 7:9-12, Ephesians 2:1-22, Galatians 2:11-14}
Leadership works best when it flows from a team. We desire that each leader in our church would be one voice on a diverse team. Because we, as humans, are not the “total package”, but are uniquely made with gifts, strengths and personalities, we believe that we need team to help us see one another’s leadership blind spots and run harder in areas of what would have been an individual leader’s area of weakness. {Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Ephesians 4:11-16}