1/18/23

On February 19, we’re having our annual church meeting, and to get ready for it, I thought I’d spend the next several Pastor’s Notes writing about who we are, what we believe, and why we exist in the first place. 

After a lifetime of working in a variety of congregations, and a lifetime of studying the scriptures, I felt a tug from God toward a fresh expression of the Body of Christ. Over the last 38 years (yikes!) of ministry, I’ve seen too many large congregations that were “a mile wide and an inch deep,” embroiled in denominational controversies, shaped more and more by the corporate world and less and less by the Bible, and as a result were more toxic than loving. Conversely, I’ve seen small congregations that were so busy trying to emulate the large congregations that they lost sight of their unique character and calling. And I was also thinking about how, especially as I was growing older, I wanted to spend my energies during the last decades of ministry. 

In the meantime, God began to bring together some people who were thinking along the same lines. We began to ask ourselves some “what if” questions. “What if there was a group of people who did simply this: devoted themselves to reading, studying, and living out the Bible? What if there was a group of people who were not enslaved to the latest fads and not overloaded with programs? What if they just had a commitment to learn and live the Word of God, then committed themselves to trusting God?”

Furthermore, they would avoid consumerist worship with its gimmicks and instead embrace the worship traditions that fed the church and honored God for centuries of church history. Everything they would do would be simple, consistent and faithful to who they believed God called them to be. 

And, thus,  their success wouldn’t be measured in the usual way: numbers in the pew, money in the plate, and bragging about converts (or more crassly, butts, bucks, and baptisms). Instead, their success would be how closely they conformed to the image of Christ, knowing that God would take care of the rest. Around this time, I ran across a quote from Bob Goff: “Our problem following Christ is that we’re trying to be a better version of ourselves, rather than a more accurate reflection of him.”

So the vision for Christ Church is of a people committed to learning and living the Word of God. Their ultimate desire would be conforming to the image of Christ. And the creed by which they lived their lives would be the same creed by which Jesus lived his life, a creed simply summarized in the words: Loving God . . . Loving Others. Furthermore, they would trust God in every area of the Church’s life. Nothing would be done without faith.

And that’s why Christ Church was born. And if someone asks you who Christ Church is or what Christ Church believes, there’s your answer.  

A related question comes up from time to time: what denomination are we?  At the moment, that’s a little complicated. First, to be absolutely clear, we are not non-denominational. Non-denominational has developed its own baggage over the years and has the reputation of being just about everything we are not. 

We are, however,  a “cooperating fellowship” with the Church of God (Anderson, IN), because that’s where I’m credentialed, and it keeps us connected with a larger body. I’m not interested in being a “lone wolf” because lone wolves get into trouble! The theology of the Church of God, with its emphasis on the unity of God’s people and the call to a holy life, is biblically sound, and sits well alongside the Methodist background of many of our members. 

Well, since so many of our members have UMC backgrounds, then why not be United Methodist? The United Methodist Church is going through major upheaval. We’re watching closely to see what emerges. Frankly, my past experience with some of the leadership on the right does not inspire my confidence in them.  However, I can’t go along with the left’s wishy-washiness when it comes to the basics of Christian beliefs (the key one being the Resurrection of Jesus).  As a ministerial friend of mine said, “I like the doctrine of the people on the right, but I like the character of the people on the left.” So, while I do not trust the leadership and the motives of the people on the right, those on the left are just too far left. 

We’re waiting and watching to see if a third alternative emerges.

In the meantime, we continue being who we’re called to be and doing what we’re called to do. More on that next week! 

Blessings, 
Pastor Terry