EXPOSING "THE CODE" OF THE CROSSING CHURCH
My next project will be a major undertaking. The unbiblical content of "THE CODE" and Eric Dykstra's insistence that Crossing attenders strictly adhere to it is the catalyst that makes The Crossing an abusive and dangerous place. I want to make sure I support my arguments with Scripture, so I will "roll out" my biblical critique of THE CODE over several months. Hopefully I can address one point of THE CODE each week.
Also, I don't want to ignore other important features of this blog, so each week I will also provide a smorgasbord of biblical insights and teachings to consider for your spiritual feeding and edification.
PREVIEW: EXPOSING "THE CODE" OF THE CROSSING CHURCH\
I want to start out with a comparison of sorts. I have posted the mission and vision statements of both my church home, "Redeemer Bible Church" and that of The Crossing. Read them in whatever order you want, Redeemer first or Crossing first, doesn't matter.
What does matter is the content of the values of each particular church. And what I want to ask you is, does each church's vision statement have solid biblical support for each particular point they make? Over the next few months I will focus exclusively on The Crossing's values a.k.a. "THE CODE".
I welcome any and all critics, including Crossing pastors, to point out where in the Bible, you find support for each particular point in THE CODE. I also invite the critics to biblically scrutinize Redeemer Bible Church's vision statement. You see, both vision statements communicate different things, and what I want to do is point out the serious errors in THE CODE.
===============================================================
THE MISSION STATEMENT OF THE CROSSING CHURCH
"The Crossing exists to thrill believers with spiritual truth and
move seekers one step closer to a relationship with Jesus."
move seekers one step closer to a relationship with Jesus."
THE VALUES OF THE CROSSING CHURCH AS EXPRESSED IN "THE CODE"
Because I had problems loading the actual document on this post and making a good fit, I chose to provide the link. This link to The Crossing "What We Believe" page also contains their doctrinal statement, or "Statement of Faith". This looks orthodox on paper but in reality a critical part of their Statement Of Faith directly contradicts a point in their values as expressed in THE CODE. I have posted about this earlier, but I will revisit this contradiction as I rough all of the points in THE CODE.
===============================================================
THE MISSION STATEMENT OF THE CROSSING CHURCH
"The Crossing exists to thrill believers with spiritual truth and
move seekers one step closer to a relationship with Jesus."
move seekers one step closer to a relationship with Jesus."
THE VALUES OF THE CROSSING CHURCH AS EXPRESSED IN "THE CODE"
Because I had problems loading the actual document on this post and making a good fit, I chose to provide the link. This link to The Crossing "What We Believe" page also contains their doctrinal statement, or "Statement of Faith". This looks orthodox on paper but in reality a critical part of their Statement Of Faith directly contradicts a point in their values as expressed in THE CODE. I have posted about this earlier, but I will revisit this contradiction as I go through all of the points in THE CODE.
================================================================
THE MISSION AND VALUES OF REDEEMER BIBLE CHURCH
Our Mission
To proclaim, embody, and enjoy the gospel of Jesus Christ so that unbelievers are convinced of the gospel, believers are built up in the gospel, and culture is transformed by the gospel, to the glory of God.
Our Values
- The Gospel : The gospel changes absolutely everything.The gospel is the good news that the reign of God (his kingdom) is at hand by the person, work, and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. It (He) is the solution to all of the effects of sin in our hearts and in the world. We are committed to bringing everything we do in line with the gospel (Gal 2:14).
- The Word of God: The gospel opens our eyes to the truth.People need to know the liberty that only the truth of God can bring. We will faithfully teach and preach and apply the word of God to our hearts and our circumstances. We will demonstrate by the way we engage in ministry that our only hope for a change of heart is by the Spirit of God ministering through his word.
- God-centered Worship: The gospel makes us worshippers of the true and living God.Through the gospel, the Father seeks to make people true worshippers – people who worship God alone through Jesus Christ alone. We will be committed to a public worship with God- and gospel-centered song lyrics, with attention to the reading of Scripture, prayer, giving, and the sacraments. We will encourage believers to have a robust life of private worship.
- Commitment to the Local Church: The gospel is aimed at creating local Christian communities.We will be committed to teaching Christians the centrality of the local church, understanding that like salvation, Christians today come to see the importance of the local church in a process. We will acknowledge this process by providing opportunities for believers to increase their level of commitment over time – through social events, retreats, conferences, and getaways.
- Relational Depth: Through the gospel we become the people of God,
a new community in which worldly distinctions no longer separate us from one another. The gospel makes us hospitable, forthright, and helpful. The gospel decimates pride and engenders humility so that we are free to serve one another through love. We will be open and honest about our lives. We will be a community where we receive help and offer help to those in need; a community where we can fight our sin together; a community where people are accountable to others and aren’t getting left behind. - Spiritual Renewal: The gospel brings ongoing spiritual transformation.It is all too typical for Christians to think that although their justification was by grace, that somehow their sanctification (becoming more like Christ) is by works. Nothing could be further from the truth. What believers need to realize is that all their fruitfulness ultimately springs from the soil of the gospel…and the gospel alone (see especially 2 Pet 1:2-9). We will help believers to understand this reality by the way we preach, teach, and counsel.
- Leadership Development: The gospel calls men into ministry.Through the gospel, the church has been granted gifts for its edification, officers in the church to equip the saints for the work of the ministry (Eph 4:7-16). We will not micromanage ministry, but be committed to leadership development that encourages imagination, ingenuity, and self-starting initiative.
- The Suburbs: The gospel changes our attitude toward where we live.God loves the suburbs. We will teach people to celebrate God’s common grace that we experience in the suburbs as well as to challenge the idolatries of suburban life.
- Personal Evangelism: The gospel makes us a church for others.Second Corinthians 5:15 says that Christ died for all, therefore all died so that we who live might no longer live for ourselves. We are persuaded that this is not simply an individual living for others, but a corporate, church-wide living for others. We will teach people that the church is not for ourselves alone. The gospel frees us to live for the good of the suburbs, to live for our friends, neighbors, and colleagues who do not yet believe. We will actively cultivate gospel relationships with non-Christians and invite them to church. We will be conscious of and welcoming to non-Christians in our midst without compromising the message. After all, since it’s the gospel that transforms the way we relate to those around us, we cannot leave any of it out. We will also be sure to communicate in such a way as to invite dialogue, understanding that the way people typically come to Christ is through a process.
- Concern for Justice: The gospel produces social healing.Therefore we will be a community that vigorously pursues justice for everyone through a vital ministry of mercy. The gospel makes us generous (2 Cor 8:9) and unafraid to part with our material possessions in order to meet the needs of those who lack. The gospel also gives hope to the poor, empowering them to work to earn bread. Jesus became poor in order to share his riches with us; we will seek to do the same first with the household of the faith, and then with the suburban poor, and finally with the urban poor of Minneapolis.
- Cultural Renewal: The gospel produces cultural renewal.The gospel reminds us that all our work matters to God. When the gospel clears out religiosity, which makes religion and service in the church an idol by which we may sinfully compare ourselves with people who don’t “put God first,” then so-called “secular” work is seen for what it is – as valuable and God-honoring as service in the local church. The gospel also shapes the way we work. It affects the motives, manner, and methods of our work. The gospel enables Christians to work in their vocations with excellence, diligence, integrity, and Christian distinctiveness, thus transforming culture from the inside out.
- Global Christianity: The gospel is good news for all the peoples of the world.The gospel motivates us to plant churches around the world among every tribe, nation, kingdom, and language both where we are and extending outward to all the unreached peoples of the earth. We will aim to plant churches with the same gospel-centered core values into every city and people group within the Twin Cities Metro, the United States, and the world.
- Cooperative Mindset: The gospel cannot be managed.We will not be territorial with respect to other churches that are doing their part to reach the community with the gospel of grace. The diversity of spiritual gifts within churches applies between churches as well. God desires to use all of the local churches in a region according to their giftedness for its transformation.
No comments:
Post a Comment