Building Principles

For over twenty years I pastored a non-denominational "charismatic" church that ranged in size, over the course of that time, from 400 to 50 people. Prior to that I served on the pastoral staff of a church that averaged an attendence of 2,500 on Sunday mornings. These days I lead a small house church that averages about 15 people (and one dog) on Sunday mornings. I can honestly say that I have more personal fulfillment and joy with the house church than I ever experienced in my previous church settings.

A couple years ago I wrote a short piece for our group entitled "Building Principles." It addresses how we need to relate to one another and build relationally. I present it here to provide you with an understanding of what I believe should be the context that all churches should function from in terms of the way we relate to one another.

Building Principles

We believe God is love, and He expresses Himself in our acceptance, forgiveness, understanding and personal encouragement of one another. We believe that no one has entered our life by "accident," but that God has sovereignly brought people into our lives for His purposes.

We believe in loving one another unconditionally, as God does. Our friendships are real and the sharing of our faith is relational. We don't use people to build the church, we use the church to build people. We don't judge, lest we be judged. We forgive and release the past. Our present relationship with God is what matters. We are a safe refuge for those needing healing, and for those damaged by religious legalism or manipulation.

We believe that God's strength is manifested in human weakness. The Book of Second Corinthians says, "We glory in our weakness, that the power of Christ's grace may rest upon us." Therefore, we make no pretensions of self righteousness. We do not expect the perfection from each other that belongs to God. We seek progress, not perfection. We support recovery for those who struggle with addiction. We cheer each other on towards wholeness and a closer connection with God.

We believe in Christ's forgiveness for our sins, past, present, and future. We celebrate communion to commemorate this gift of salvation by grace. We remind each other that God the Father has accepted us, and that we need not live in guilt and shame. Christ suffered once for our sins that He might bring us to the Father. We do not earn our salvation by keeping legalistic rules, but by faith in what Christ Jesus has done for us.