Church Foundations
“We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as it is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore, we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.”
2 Thessalonians 1: 3-4
When I read these verses from Paul, I think of Redeemer Bible Church. It is such a privilege to play a part in leading this church. I give thanks daily for what God is doing in our midst, and I pray that the Lord will continue His beautiful work of salvation and sanctification in our hearts. Throughout 2023, I have seen powerful evidence of people growing abundantly in faithful obedience to Jesus and in loving service toward one another. As we move into our fifth year together, I love to tell the story to others about what God is doing in our midst! As the work increases, it is important that we all be reminded of our foundations – the distinctive traits that make us who we are as a church.
Expository Bible Preaching and Teaching: We understand who God is through the revelation of His word in the Bible. We are not ashamed of the Bible. The word of the Lord is eternal, while the words of people are quickly passing away. The best way to study and preach the Bible is to study and preach it as it is written – chapter by chapter and verse by verse. The Bible remains a mystery to many people because they have been taught by ministry leaders to bounce around the Bible from one “meaningful verse” to another.
Expository Bible teaching keeps Redeemer focused on the Bible, studying the Bible, talking about / discussing the Bible, and living according to what we find there. What we primarily find in the Bible is teaching about Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God and the revelation of His works teach us the gospel! As we learn about Jesus we learn about God’s sovereign and saving work in the world. Expository Bible teaching practically helps the congregation to understand what the Bible is teaching and how they can understand the Bible for themselves. It brings the balance God intended to doctrinal teaching. Expository Bible teaching always bears fruit in our hearts as we relish the word of God, instead of the insights of men.
Elder-Led / Congregationally-Ruled: We accept the clear teaching of Scripture that the church should be led by a plurality of spiritually qualified overseers (elders). However, we also take seriously the necessity of accountability against sin (Matthew 18:17), the wisdom of many Christians together, and the practical necessities of church governance through meaningful membership. For these reasons, our church is led by an eldership that is affirmed by the believing membership. The elders direct the daily aspects of the church, but decisions affecting the entire church in a significant way are hashed out with all the membership having a voice. This biblical church model has encouraged significant spiritual growth in the lives of leaders and brought the church a deep sense of real unity in an age of terrible societal division.
Congregational Singing: We believe the Bible teaches that Christians should sing in joyful musical worship when gathered together (Colossians 3:16). This should not translate this into a concert of professional musicians performing for an audience of Christians. The local church gathered together is not the same as a performance concert. When the church gathers, every voice should personally sing, and personally worship our Savior Jesus with a full and true heart. There are certain important elements that need to be present for this to effectively occur. The music selected needs to be biblically true and written to be sung by an average person. Most Christian music sung by professional singers does not translate well to congregational singing. The sound volume inside the church needs to be turned down low enough for people to be able to hear their voices as they sing. This low volume also creates an open and welcoming environment for all ages. The musicians on the stage become leaders not performers.
Emphasis on Discipleship and Personal Holiness: The focal point of the apostles after the ascension of Jesus was to make disciples – to raise up people that believe in Jesus and obey Him fully in their lives. Disciples of Jesus are known as Christians and live in a holy (separated) way. As people grow in understanding who Jesus is and grow in believing the words of Jesus, their character changes and their actions change. This is called salvation leading into sanctification. To be sanctified means to be set apart from worldliness and sin by living in a righteous way that obeys Jesus. This is not pride but godliness. The sanctification journey of the Christian is a journey of self-denial and self-sacrifice – dying to self and living in the new ways of Jesus. This is not a minor change, but a life-altering new direction of truth and joy.
In All Things Love: The master virtue of the Christian life is love. It is first fruit of the Holy Spirit and the hub virtue around which all other virtues turn. If we have no love in our lives, we are not living the Christian life. If we are void of love and our church does not display genuine Christian love, then others have a right to declare that we are apostate (fallen away from the faith / forsaken by God). However, when the love of God overflows in our care, our words, our prayers, our tenderness and mercy toward each other and strangers – all will know that we are Christians. The world cannot fake the genuine love of Jesus. As we draw near to God in His word, and prayer, and obedience, He will bear in us the fruit of His love. In this way the Christian life becomes a way of joy instead of a way of duty.
Spiritual Giftedness and Real Service in the Church: At Redeemer we believe every Christian is gifted by the Holy Spirit to play a real role of service in the church. When the membership of the church is sacrificially serving according to their spiritual gifts, the church will have no lack or gaps. This is the opposite of the common church model of a large paid professional staff providing services to a consuming church. That is an American business model, not a New Testament church model. Redeemer has zero full-time paid staff. The only way this church works is through its members sacrificially serving each other because of the love of Jesus. Those devoted to Christ giving of themselves to serve as an elder, serve as a deacon, teach small groups, host small groups, play an instrument, welcome visitors, watch a child in nursery, teach a children’s class, teach a youth class, host young adults, set up the baptismal, help keep the church clean and looking nice, run the sound, counsel a person in need, make a meal for a person in need, and on and on. This is what is means to live together as the body of Christ.
It is a true joy to serve as your pastor! May the Lord Jesus continue His work in our midst,
Pastor Vic