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The Circle. Each person has equal and vital importance in God’s eyes. Therefore, in the Community of Christ, there should be no superstars and no spectators. Each person has something to contribute that is essential to the work of God. Rather than being the preeminent gift, leadership is the gift of influencing others in a way that empowers them, through helping them discover and utilize their own unique gifts. (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 14:1-25)
Unity. As Christ’s representative in the world, the Church must be unified in Spirit, purpose, passion, and mission through the “bond of peace”. Obviously, this does not mean that all believers must agree on everything all the time. It does, however, mean that we must “make every effort” to come to agreement on as many things as possible. The universal Church is one Body, one Team working together for a common purpose, which leaves no room for competition between churches, or among church members. We value collaboration with all churches who adhere to historic, orthodox Christian faith and have no interest in perpetuating any other agenda than God’s purpose and mission in the world. (Acts 4:32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-11; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians 4:2-6; Philippians 2:1-2)
Variety. There are many types of people in center-city, and throughout the world, all of whom have been crafted in the image of God. We believe that diversity enriches life and broadens our worldview. Consequently, we desire to interact and learn from as many other cultures and sub-cultures as possible. This is a fundamental element to the expression of our faith in the center-city community. There are countless ways for a community of believers to accomplish their God-given mission; therefore our gatherings tend to be colorful and unpredictable. While we eagerly expect God to do new and exciting things in our midst, He is simultaneously expecting us to be bold and creative in the ways we live out our faith.
Entertainment may draw a crowd, but it is a fickle and precarious way to gain and maintain committed people. God never tried to entertain anybody. However, He does work real and astonishing miracles in the world. A story in the book of Leviticus tells us that when God’s people presented a sacrifice that was acceptable to Him He sent down fire and consumed it from the altar. Immediately, all the people “shouted for joy, and then fell facedown.” The priests were rather impressed by the reaction of the people, and so they attempted to produce “fake fire” to replicate what had happened. As soon as they did this, God struck them dead. This story demonstrates that we are never to attempt to manipulate people through purely emotional appeals, psychological tactics or entertainment. Rather, we are to be surrendered as vessels to be filled by Him and used by Him. (Leviticus 9:24 – 10:2; John 4:23-24)
Truth. What’s true is true, no matter who challenges it. What’s false is false, no matter who believes it. However, God is the only one with a monopoly on the Truth. Despite the existence of many intelligent and thoughtful people, no one has all the answers. A leader who understands this realizes that he or she is a perpetual student, not only of the Bible, but of all of God’s created order. We want to provide a platform for people of all faiths to ask difficult questions without fear of condemnation or humiliation. We want to be a community in which imperfect people can explore God’s perfect plan for their lives, whatever that looks like. At the same time, God demands that everything we teach and do be truthful, authentic and in accordance with His Word. God mentions “truth” or “that which is true” nearly 300 times throughout Scripture, and Jesus was constantly saying, “I tell you the truth,” so it is obvious that God has a preoccupation with Truth. Therefore, Truth will always be of primary consequence to us. (John 4:23-24; 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Peter 1:22; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
Mystery. One of the definiting characteristics of Western Culture is the compulsion to “figure it all out,” and the word Mystery has come to describe nothing more than a genre of “whodunit” literature. While the quest for Truth is a noble one, it is foolish, arrogant and sad when a society settles for nothing less than a thorough, systematic comprehension of all it surveys. And when this approach is applied to the study of God it becomes sinful and idolatrous as well, because it presumes that we, as humans, can rise to achieve God-like understanding. God’s ways are higher than man’s ways, and we embrace his mystery when we revel in that, when we accept diversity in the secondary doctrines, when we celebrate the variety of his creation, and when we worship God, not only because we know him to be good, but because he is a being far beyond our full knowledge. (Isaiah 40:13-14, Isaiah 55:8, Romans 11:33-36, 1 Timothy 3:16)
Beauty. God is beauty. It is not enough to say that God is beautiful, because he himself is the standard, the essence, and the source of all that is beautiful. As a broken race, we humans have corrupted the standard of beauty. We try to make the world more attractive by replacing God’s creation with ours. We release movies and publish magazines to normalize an impossible standard of physical charm. As in all other sins, we have displaced God, and we must repent. First, we must commit to honoring all God’s beauty. We must remember that “man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.” And though this is true, it is no doubt that God sees physical beauty in every human, something we cannot fail to recognize. Second, we must honor God with our own creative gifts, not settling for that which is utilitarian, but striving for gracefulness, intrigue, authenticity and wonder in all that we do. In the process, may we worship him by fitting our expressions into his, and never exalting the works of our own hands. (1 Samuel 16:7, Psalm 27:4, Ecclesiastes 2:11, Ecclesiastes 9:10)
Mentorship is the key to getting new Christians off to a solid start, and helping all Christians to continue to mature in their faith. Each time a person first decides to give his life to Jesus, he will be matched up with a mature believer to help him/her understand what the salvation decision really means, what to expect in the near future, and how to stay accountable. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; Proverbs 27:17; Galatians 6:1)
Listening is just as important as talking when it comes to reaching people with God’s love. This is true both for believers, who quickly burn out if they don’t feel their voice is being heard, and for unbelievers, who feel like all Christians want to do is talk at them and don’t value their opinions or perspectives at all. (Proverbs 10:19)