Our Values: A Mighty Flowing River

While a lake may be beautiful, a river is powerful. Jesus designed His church to be more like a powerful river rather than a leisurely lake. While many factors contribute to this power, consider that it is the banks of the river that channel energy and momentum. Last week we discussed what we are supposed to be doing (our mission): Bringing the love of Christ to a hurting world. Today we shall discuss why we do what we do (our values). Values are important because they, like the banks of a river, channel energy and momentum. Just as “a river without banks is just a large puddle” (Will Mancini), a church that has not clearly discerned her values is more like a large puddle than a mighty flowing river. So what drives our mission to bring the love of Christ to a hurting world? Consider:

• Love: The Great Commandment (Matt 22:35-40). We are committed to bringing the love of God to a hurting world because we value the holiness of God and the dignity of all mankind. We love God and also love others because everyone is created in the image of God (Gen 1:27). Our love is based on Jesus’ love for us and demonstrated by:
  1. Proclaiming the truths given to us by God in the Bible. It is not loving to deceive or to lie, therefore we know that it is loving to share God’s truth with all.
  2. Forgiving those who sin against us and seeking forgiveness from those we sin against. God’s love is demonstrated in forgiveness and we show our love for God and others through it.
  3. Refusing to give unfair preferential treatment to one person or group at the expense of another. We shall love all people because God loves all people.
• Healing: The Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20). We are committed to bringing the love of God to a hurting world because we value the healing Jesus provides for every person who is hurting due to sin. True healing occurs through discipleship that includes repentance of sin and faith in Jesus. This healing results in all nations obeying all that Jesus commanded and becoming Christians. True healing brings glory to God and good for others and is demonstrated by:
  1. Committing ourselves to all that is stated in Value #1: Love. True healing is based on love and we cannot bring healing into the world if we are not motivated by love (1 Cor 13).
  2. Sharing and Modeling the gospel with our friends, families, and everyone we meet. Our love for God and others is demonstrated in our obedience to model and share the gospel.
  3. Giving and Going into all the world bringing the gospel so all know and love Jesus Christ. We give of our time, talent, and treasures to send the gospel to all nations and we shall go as able.
• Order: The Great Confusion (1 Cor 14:33). We are committed to bringing the love of God to a hurting world because we value order and clarity that results in peace. Our God does not delight in confusion (1 Cor 14:33) and neither do we. This is demonstrated by:
  1. Evaluating our methods to ensure that they help and not hurt our mission. Our mission is given by Jesus Himself and is unchangeable, but our methods must always be evaluated to ensure that we are effectively carrying out our mission.
  2. Unifying under the authority of God. Jesus is the head of the church and no one seeks to challenge His authority. We do not demand that our desires and preferences are met, but we seek God’s wisdom and unity around it.