A New Humanity Under Christ

Colossians 1:15-20, 2 Corinthians 5:17
The primary focus of Grace is to honor Christ. But sometimes people can feel confused about what that means. As we honor the dignity of each individual, honoring Christ happens through normal life and through people’s passions and giftings. We see worship as something big; like how our hearts respond to beauty in art, how we approach our jobs, how we parent, and how we express love to one another. We want to learn how to bring Christ into every area of life. We want to present Christ mainly through modeling Christ’s character of love, kindness, and service. We believe that Christ’s desire is to redeem individuals and restore creation, and we want our sermons to reflect that. To present sermons in the language and context of everyday issues and events is important to us.

Community

Ephesians 4:15-16, 1 John 4:20-21
The primary way that we are changed is through authentic, loving relationships. Shared lives and service for one another is the way toward spiritual growth and training. In order for that to happen we have to learn to trust each other, talk to each other, and care about each other. When we do it creates an atmosphere that will bring healing, empowerment, and equipping in every area of life. At the foundation of that atmosphere is the truth of the Gospel, which allows us to more easily understand who God is and how He works in our lives. We value relationships and community and want to model that community through teaching and empowering people to live as Jesus lived.

Service

Matthew 20:25-28
A lot of the attempts by Christians to present the faith in NYC have been perceived as threatening and have been resisted individually and corporately. One reason why is because Christianity is seen as political maneuvering or manipulative. We would like to say something different. We would like to engage the city through service. According to Scripture, compassion and service are a part of the nature of God. We want to follow Jesus and bring His shalom (peace and prosperity) to the community as an act of worship. We can do this by coordinating with mercy ministries, government offices, and educational institutions throughout the city to determine how we can help, and then we want to organize teams of people to practically meet those needs. We want to inspire and model a lifestyle of serving the needs of individuals and our city.

Humility

John 2:23-25, Philippians 2:3
We want to strive to embody a spirit of humility in what we teach and do. God’s activity and culture are dynamic, so we need to always remain open to reprioritization, redirection, and other needed changes. We want to lead with the attitude of servants in our families, businesses, and communities. We can do this by presenting truth to the city in a spirit of love and kindness, and listening intently to the opinions and perspectives of others. We acknowledge the failings of the Church, our common hypocrisy, our biases, and our incomplete understanding of God, His purposes, and His ways. We must cautiously and humbly present our ideas and perspectives to the city, while avoiding presumptuously judging local communities, organizations, or individuals. We can avoid judgmental attitudes and still embrace and apply the truths of God’s words in Scripture. We think that maintaining this tension will help us avoid becoming legalistic or humanistic while still faithfully upholding and proclaiming God’s truth.

Empowerment

Ephesians 4:11-13
Christians should see themselves as ministers of the Gospel. We think that the church should operate as a green house by creating structures and strategies that impart the seed of the Gospel into the lives of people and then facilitating the growth of that seed. The ultimate goal will be to completely equip and empower people to initiate their own ministry centers that equip and empower others. These ministry centers are not separate from the Church, but are equipped, supported, and overseen by the Church. People should desire to coordinate with the entire congregation and with the entire Christian community. We feel that the balance of ministry centers with the Christian community will maximize the potential for each individual in terms of training and opportunity, and it would allow for large-scale coordination of the body of Christ.

Integrity

1 Tim 3:2, Psalm 51:6
We want to model and inspire people to live with complete integrity. This includes embodying the character and teachings of Christ in every area of our lives - particularly honesty, faithfulness, kindness, discipline, and self-control. Church policies ensure financial transparency, and these policies provide sufficient checks and balances to prevent undue temptation for sin. In addition, we want to deal honestly with non-Christians in honoring confidentiality and in presenting true and sincere offers of friendship without hidden agendas.

Life Affirmation (Incarnation)

Romans 1:20, Acts 2:5-12
Everyone possesses talents, giftings, and passions that reflect their being created in the image of God. Therefore, we want to model discipleship that identifies those God-given characteristics and assists people in restoring them to God’s original intent. We see different elements and institutions in culture as part of God’s creation, which are fundamentally good, but now fallen. This perspective allows us to embrace the good in these institutions while being aware of the aspects of culture that have become a cheap substitute for God, or idolatrous. People need to participate in the world we live under the direction and power of the Holy Spirit. We believe that Scripture shows us how to avoid the corrupting powers of idolatry and demonstrate God’s original intention through our work and influence.

Unity

John 17:23, Ephesians 4:3
We believe that it’s important to promote unity throughout the congregation and throughout the entire believing Christian community. We will as much as possible make decisions in a spirit of agreement and peace. We will also attempt to reconcile differences and model forgiveness. Likewise, Christians should avoid factions, dissentions, quarreling, and gossip, and avoid divisions based on secondary theological beliefs. In addition, we know that we’re only part of the entire Christian community and God’s purposes in the city. Therefore, we need to maintain close relationships with other churches and attempt to serve their needs. We also will attempt to coordinate our activities with the overall attempts of other churches to advance God’s Kingdom.

Prayer

John 15:4, James 5:16
Our life, health, and success depend completely on God’s grace and power. The church as a whole and individuals must consistent petition God for His direction and ability. Our primary purpose in life is to love God and experience his love and direction. In addition, we must constantly petition God to reveal his supernatural power in our lives and in the heart of the city.