What I Believe

I believe:

I believe in the authority of the Bible:

The books of the Old and New Testaments are the primary rule and authority for faith, morals, and service, against which all other authorities must be measured.
CONTEXT is everything. You cannot take one verse from the Bible to support your point…you must discern what is said and how it connects to the whole story.
Study - prayerful, intentional study and conversations with mature Christians are vital to understand the truth as revealed by the Holy Spirit.

I believe the greatest commandment is Love:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Every person deserves compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:29-31)
Renounce hateful and harassing behavior because this is not in accord with Scripture or the doctrines of the church.
Faithful, gentle, proclamation of the Scripture, including the call to repentance, does not constitute hate speech, or hateful and harassing behavior, but is instead a fundamental part of the church’s loving mission to the world. (2 Tim. 4:1–2, Matt. 28:16–20; 2 Cor. 5:11–20; 1 Tim. 1:5)

I believe marriage is an essential part of God’s plan:

Human sexuality is a gift of God that is to be affirmed as it is exercised within the legal and spiritual covenant of a loving and monogamous marriage between man and woman (Gen. 2:18–24, Exodus 20:14, Matthew 19:4-6, Ephesians 5:31).
Living in obedience to the Scripture and in union with the Holy Spirit, we can begin to experience peaceful, productive, and fulfilled marriage as intended by God. (Gen 1:28; Eph 5:32-33)

I believe we all sin:

For a spiritual leader, when their sin begins to have a negative impact on people, especially those that are under their care – then something must change. We need to love. We need forgiveness. We need to pray. We need to transform - so we can grow closer to God.
Should a leader who is practicing adultery be a leader in the church? Not until they have transformed. Should a leader who is no longer in an adulterous relationship, and found forgiveness and transformed into who God wants them to be – should he or she lead? Most assuredly! Replace the underlined words with any other activity that separates us from God and you get the same answer!

I believe God offers redemption and forgiveness to all who confess and forsake their sin:

Repentance is a radical change of heart and mind, with action to transform our life. A desire to change is not repentance, until it leads to an active response to God’s word and a changed life.
His forgiveness is total and complete. (Ps. 103:11–12, 130:3–4; Is. 43:25, 44:22; John 5:24; Col. 2:13–14)
The forgiven sinner has been cleansed from the guilt of sin, set apart unto God, made holy, and justified before Him.
Anyone who has received that forgiveness is “in Christ” and is a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).

I long for Christian Unity:

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