I BELIEVE

I am 36 years old. I feel I get more dumb with age. When I feel like I have figured something out...it spins. Parenting...no clue. Marriage...I am an idiot. Pastoring...hit and miss. I am working on these things, a work in progress if you will. But there are a few things that I stand firm in concerning my beliefs and how to live. I do not believe I will deviate from them.

I believe your life counts! For the first 300 years of Christianity there were no church buildings, no paid or “professional” clergy. There were simply believers...those that embraced Jesus Christ as their life and mission. There is absolutely no dividing line between clergy and laity. We are all called with one calling and no man or woman is to ever be elevated above another so as to create a division between secular and sacred. There are no professional believers!

I believe today's Christianity has become a civilized religion that promises comfort, abundance and safety. I am convinced that perhaps the most dangerous place to be is in the center of God’s will! You are never safe, yet never alone. I am convinced that Jesus did not come to simply bring convenience but to bring His kingdom through the broken, humbled and even the struggling.

I believe that believers should be compelled by Christ and not by religious expectation, manipulation, guilt or shame. I believe our identity is in our birth as children of God and not by our performance. I believe that God’s grace is determined by His character and not ours. The Cross was enough. We must live out these truths.

I am certain that Jesus’ death wasn’t to free us from dying, but to free us from the fear of death. I believe that Christ calls us to die up front so that we might truly begin to live. Now. Today.

I believe that Jesus is not simply the answer to the death question, but also to the life question. I believe that the redeemed are called to passionately embrace both the nature and mission of Jesus Christ.

I believe we are here for a reason and that every believer is called to a life of service, studying the scriptures and investing the resources and gifts that God has given them.

I believe we can touch the world by touching the people around us. I believe that we only love God as much as the person we love least. To the glory of God, we are here for a reason.