Core Virtue::Gentleness

We are thoughtful, considerate and calm in dealing with others.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Philippians 4:5

The creed gives us three aspects of gentleness:

• Thoughtful. Gentleness involves that crucial moment of thought before action. It is not impulsive or reactionary. It is the grace of stopping and thinking before rushing in.
• Considerate. Gentleness, like many of the virtues, has a relational component. It is not just about an inner quality of one's character, but about relationships with others. Gentleness is the ability to consider the impact of my words and actions on the people around me.
• Calm. Gentleness is the ability to remain calm in circumstances that are anything but calm. Gentle people calm an atmosphere, whereas non-gentle people (like me) tend to stir it up.

One of the difficulties I've had over the years with this and other Christian virtues is understanding how they relate to gender. I know I'm not alone in this: I, like many other men, have considered the virtues to be primarily feminine traits. If a man believes this, he begins to think that the process of becoming more like Christ is the process of becoming more like a woman, and that's not very appealing to men (we love women, but we don't want to be one). This misperception is often reinforced by clergy, the church's physical environment, and by well-meaning Christian women, creating a snowball effect. One day you wake up, and the church is a particularly female organization, with involvement and de facto leadership being more femine than masculine; Bible study is a women's outing; depictions of Jesus are, well, less than manly; and you're contstantly being asked to sit still, wear nice clothes, be nice, share your feelings...and be gentle. All of Christianity starts to look like one of those quilted Bible covers with lace around the edges, and the men are just waiting to shed the tie, do something physical, and drink a beer.

This is all, of course, a very warped and inaccurate view of Christ, the Christ-life, and the church. The 10 core virtues, in their true expressions, are no more or less prevalent in men or women, but are the result of remaining in Christ. And when they are visible in a person's life, those who see them don't think of how masculine or feminine they are. They think of how much like Christ that person is becoming, as either a woman or a man.

Gentleness is related to the following core beliefs: Identity in Christ, Humanity, Compassion

Gentleness is related to the following core practices: Prayer, Single-Mindedness, Biblical Community

Parenting this virtue:

Generally speaking, kids learn gentleness to the degree that they experience it. Conversely, if they are parented harshly, they generally treat others harshly. But there is a third option, and this is where the distinction between the true virtue of Gentleness and what is often mistaken for gentleness becomes important. Children who experience gentleness learn to be gentle men and women; children who experience coddling, smothering, indulgence, and other pseudo forms of gentleness learn to be selfish and take advantage of others.

Core Virtue::Kindness/Goodness

We choose to do the right things in our relationships with others.

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
1 Thessalonians 5:15

Kindness/Goodness is the art of being others-oriented in action. It's focusing our attention on what we can do to help someone else, to make someone else feel special, or comfortable, or valued. It's expressed in little things like text messages or Hallmark cards, and it's big things like sacrifices of time, money, and resources in the interest of others.

Too often, we define goodness as being not bad: if we avoid the bad things, then we're good. Not so. Goodness is proactive, seeking good for others. If we are satisfied to just avoid being bad, we won't be known as "good people." In fact, we may not even be known at all. You can be moral and very unkind--many Christians are. But if God produces kindness and goodness in us, it will express itself in the way we treat those around us, and it will be noticed.

I had a great conversation recently with a newcomer to our church. He was excited about what he had experienced at the Springs, and was very interested in bringing his kids to our Sunday gatherings. "I want my kids to be around good people," he said. I can't think of a better compliment. That's how we want to be known in our community.

This core virtue is related to the following core beliefs:Humanity, Compassion

This core virtue is related to the following core practices:Biblical Community, Giving Away My Time, Giving Away My Money, Giving Away My Faith

Parenting this virtue:
One of the great things about kindness and goodness is that they work on any scale, large or small. Kids can learn their value when even the smallest expressions of them are valued at home. Partner with your kids to express kindness and goodness to other family members. Surprise your spouse or another sibling with an unexpected kindness. Then, as the kids grow older, this virtue can be expressed outside the home, in the neighborhood and community. It makes a big difference if your kids see you taking time, energy, and resources to express kindness to neighbors and people in need.

Core Virtue::Faithfulness

I have established a good name with God and with others based on my long-term loyalty to those relationships.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.

Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and humankind.
Prov 3:3-4

Faithfulness is an old-school virtue. It's reminiscent of your grandfather, who got a gold watch for staying at the same job for 25 years, and had a party because he and your grandma were married for 50. It takes us back to a time before before the average American moved to a new town every 7 years, changed careers 3-5 times in his or her lifetime, and changed churches even more than that, if he or she attends church at all; before the divorce rate was 50%, and before American businesses viewed older workers as insurance and pension liabilities. It recalls an era when principle almost always won out over expediency. Now we live in a world where faithfulness doesn't fit.

I'm not the guy who wants to go back to Mayberry. I grew up in a version of it, a small Texas town called Stephenville, and I don't view it through rose-colored glasses. I used to wear a t-shirt to school that said, "Welcome to Stephenville, please set your clocks back 200 years." But there is no denying that the benefits we have gained from our metropolitan lifestyle have been offset by unintended consequences. We came to believe that learning to love yourself was the greatest love of all, and that you can't expect anyone to look out for you. We lost our sense of belonging, our sense of trust, even our sense of family in some cases. We came to accept living among millions of strangers instead dozens of friends, and even sitting among them in our mega churches, to which we also feel no real sense of obligation.

But faithfulness is not just a relic of times past. It is a core virtue of Christianity, one of the Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5. It is timeless and vital to the Christ-life. And while our grandparents may not be around to model it for us, our God--the Inventor or Perfecter of faithfulness--is still here.

So go old-school: rediscover the upside to being faithful to God, family, church, neighborhood, community, and maybe even work. Stay in the same place with the same people long enough to know and be known, love and be loved. Go long on principle instead of selling short on temporary gain. You'll be the salmon swimming against the stream of culture, but you may be surprised how good it feels.

This virtue is related to the following core beliefs: Eternity, Identity in Christ, Church

This virtue is related to the following core practices: Single-mindedness, Biblical Community, Giving Away My Life

Parenting this Virtue

KidsKreed: I am loyal to God, my family and my friends.

Perhaps more than some other virtues, faithfulness is learned over long periods of time, as children see and experience the benefits of their parents remaining faithful to God, family, church and community. By all means, make changes in your family's life with your modeling of this virtue in mind: what will our kids learn about faithfulness from this relocation, job change, church change, school change, moral decision, or family decision?

A note to divorced parents: divorce is a direct challenge to every family member's belief in and understanding of faithfulness, but it's not the end of the road. Remember that God's grace applies to this and every competency. Not only can you recover your own belief in faithfulness, you can model and teach it to your kids. Here are a couple of places to start:

1. Beware of the temptation to justify your decisions to your children by bashing your ex. They can still learn important lessons about faithfulness by how you and your ex respond to one another and to them as parents. Whenever possible, honor their mother or father.
2. Prioritize faithfulness in the kids' other areas of life, especially in the season right after divorce. If at all possible, don't make major changes like moving to a new town, new school or church. There is a little voice that tells us in such times that we would be better off to just run away and start over, but the voice is very often wrong. You and your children can learn an incredible lesson about God's faithfulness, and that of His people, but staying put and walking through a difficult season with your community around you. Most people never have this wonderful experience because they never stick around long enough.

Core Virtue::JOY

I have inner contentment and purpose in spite of my circumstances.

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

-Jesus to his disciples in John 15:11

True joy does not exist outside of Christ. Joy is based on the fact that there is a bigger picture than my current circumstances. There is a God who loves me and is involved in my life. There is a purpose to my life larger than any crisis. There is an eternity, not just a lifetime.

Joy without Christ is lunacy and naivitee, like having a tea party on the deck of the Titanic. We can't expect a person who does not follow Christ to have joy (and when we do, we do him a disservice). Without Christ he or she can be:

1. happy about his good circumstances;
2. willfully ignorant of his bad cirumstances;
3. falsely confident in his own abilities to change his circumstances;

but he can't have true joy. The Spirit of God must produce it in us, as we become increasingly certain of His love, Providence, and our security in Him.

This virtue is related to the following core beliefs: Personal God, Eternity

This virtue is related to the following core practices: Single-Mindedness, Prayer, Bible Study, Worship

This virtue may seem very similar to Peace, which is tomorrow's core virtue, but we'll see there is a significant difference.

Parenting this virtue:

Children watch their parents respond to crises, and the impression stays with them for a long time. As God produces this virtue in you, your children will notice. In times of crisis, communicate with them. Remember, too, that Joy is not naive. You can be honest about your concerns, but let them know where your confidence lies, and where their confidence can also be.

Core Practice::Giving Away My Money

We give away our money to fulfill God’s purposes.

But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
2 Corinthians 8:7

"...this grace of giving." What a refreshingly different way to think about giving away our money. What does 'grace' mean? It has several definitions, and I think each of them is one of God's purposes in the core practice:

grace, n. a charm or loveliness. Giving away our money is an act of beauty, both in the sight of God and to those who benefit from it. It is an elegance, something that makes the world look one shade brighter.

grace, n. a mercy or benefaction. Giving away our money is an expression of mercy to those in need. By giving away our money, we debunk the misguided notion that God helps those who help themselves. We know from personal experience that God helps those who can't help themselves. Therefore, we do the same.

grace, n. a prayer or blessing. One of the great privileges of following Christ is the ability He gives us to invoke God's presence and his blessing on the lives of other people. You may not walk around believing you have this ability, but you do have it and you should use it. When we give away our money, God enters the chain of events. Money, this thing the Bible calls "the root of all kinds of evil," can literally be a prayer in the hands of a Christ-follower, and God's answer to someone else's prayer. Give away your money and watch. You might receive some credit, but almost always the beneficiary will thank God. That's the point.

grace, n. unmerited favor; immunity from penalties. For many Americans, money is deeply embedded in our work ethic, which is a good thing in many respects, but can have a dark side. One of my father's favorite movies is an old western called "Shenandoah." In one poignant scene, Charlie Anderson, played by Jimmy Stewart, says 'grace' before a family meal:

Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it, and harvested it. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn't be here and we wouldn't be eating it if we hadn't done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you Lord just the same for the food we're about to eat, amen.

It's very easy for us to come to believe there is a 1:1 correlation between our work, our intelligence, our charm and abilities, and the amount of money and possessions we have. We did this. We built this empire brick by brick. This house, this bank account, these cars, these college funds, we worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel...but God, thanks anyway. And if this formula holds true, why on earth would we give our money to some deadbeat who didn't work a day in his life?

Givers know two things: that money is part of God's unmerited favor; and that work is spiritual--it is about something far more significant than just making money. Giving money away affirms these very significant realities in our lives.

This core practice is connected to the following core beliefs: Stewardship, Compassion, Identity in Christ, Eternity.

Parenting this practice:
Just yesterday, on May 14, one of my sons gave me his first 2 items for the 2009 Christmas list. Total cost about $400. Giving Away Our Money is a vitally important core practice to teach our kids in a consumer-driven society.

If you give, make sure your kids see it and know about it. It can be very anonymous to write a check or, as some of you do at the Springs, have funds auto-debited from your account. You are not being humble if your kids don't know about it, you are missing an opportunity for them to learn a vital life lesson. Whenever it's possible for them to participate, encourage it and celebrate it.

Christmas is a great time teach this practice to our kids, not just because it's a season of giving, but because it's such a gaudy season of getting. Make plans as a family to give less to each other and more to people in need. You may develop a habit that carries all year long.

Core Practice::Biblical Community

We fellowship with other Christians to accomplish God’s purposes in our lives, others’ lives, and in the world.

All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:44-47

Go back and read that passage again. It's radical. The first followers of Christ took this community thing really, really far. They had major skin in the game: money, time, property. They lived very communally. This is not a recipe for some kind of government social program. These were believers who knew each other in the neighborhood. They hung out together, shared meals together, praised God together. They loved God and loved each other sacrificially. Their spiritual development was not compartmentalized. They learned information about following Jesus in a context of close relationship and mutual care.

What would that look like in my neighborhood? If the family from that church, and that church, and my church started being the church in my neighborhood, we could get close. If we started sharing meals together, sharing our stuff if we needed it, spending casual time together, talking about the Scriptures with each other, challenging each other to grow. If one of us sold some of our stuff because another one of us was in need.... It would make headlines, because people just don't do that.

I'm thrilled to say that the seeds of that kind of life are sprouting in my neighborhood. We know who the other believers are on our block. We have been blessed with one other family who has taken the plunge with us. All our neighbors don't share our vision or even understand it, but some do. We PLAY together, BELONG to a degree. We don't' GROW together or SERVE together much yet, but we're getting there. In many cases, relationships take time and repeated investment.

How to get started:

1. Get to know people in the neighborhood (which itself is major step for some of us).
2. Pray for and identify one other person or family in your neighborhood who is a Christ-follower, who you think may be willing to pursue biblical community with you.
3. Agree to devote yourselves to the four functions: PLAY, BELONG, GROW, and SERVE together, which fulfill the practices of the first Christians in Acts 2. You might start with just sharing meals periodically, and build from there.

Parenting this practice:

Biblical community is more caught that taught with kids. How our kids define community will depend on what they experience. Because most of us were raised to believe that biblical community was about attendance at church functions, we struggle with the ideas mentioned above. If our kids, however, experience true biblical community in our homes and neighborhoods, it will be a no-brainer for them as adults. I already see this happening, and it is very cool.

Core Practice :: Giving Away My Life

I give away my life to fulfill God’s purposes.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship.
Romans 12:1

What does it mean to be a Christian in our community? Too often, it means this: go to church, support the church financially to some degree, and don't do bad things. If you're really into it, you add a Bible study or Sunday School class, listen to Christian music, maybe put a fish bumper sticker on your car. Yawn.

The distinguishing characteristic of the first-century church was the radical love they expressed to each other, and to a world in need. Read Acts 2. They were devoted to each other. They shared everything: meals, their homes, their possessions if someone needed it. They put together a team just to make sure the widows and orphans were taken care of. They gave their lives away. Why? Because Jesus gave his life away, and they were followers of Jesus.

Let's redefine what it means to be a Christ follower in our community. Make our table groups bases for giving away to our neighbors. Keep our eyes open for the needs we can meet as followers of Christ. Don't allow our lives to be defined by religious activity, but by Jesus-inspired giving.

This core practice is connected to the following core beliefs: Stewardship, Compassion

Parenting this practice:
One of the biggest mistakes we can make as parents is to presume that we are fulfilling this practice by giving our lives away to our kids. We are not. Our kids need to see us giving our lives away to our spouses, our neighbors, and other people in need, and they need to practice giving their lives away with us. The two approaches produce very different results. Which outcome do you want?

If you give your life away TO your kids:

• your kids learn that the world revolves around them
• your kids lose respect for you
• your kids' view of a healthy marriage is skewed because they see parents who focus on them and not each other
• your marriage will tank when the kids leave home because your family's entire focus leaves with them

If you give your life away WITH your kids:

• your kids learn how to give their lives away and fulfill God's purposes in their lives
• your kids make an impact in the lives of others
• your family has great bonding experiences
• your kids respect you for the way they see you give your life away to your spouse, neighbors, and others, and aspire to follow your example. you set them up to be a better husband or wife one day.
• your relationship with your spouse will be much better; in fact, all your relationships will be better
• your kid will lose that college scholarship you were giving your whole life to get them (just kidding, I couldn't resist).

Core Practice :: WORSHIP

We worship God for who He is and what He has done for us.
---
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.

For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.

The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.

-Psalm 95:1-7

Worship is what God deserves.
Worship is responding to God.
Worship is much, much more than music.
Worship is not a church service.
Worship is not any particular style.
Worship is not a concert.
Worship does not have a dress code.
Worship does not require a building, a leader, or a preacher.
Worship is both individual and corporate.
Worship is not passive.
Worship is bringing our best to God, whatever our best is.

Concert:
Band=performers
Crowd=audience

Worship:
Band=prompters
Crowd=performers
God=audience

Resource: The Pursuit of God, by A.W.Tozer. A short read, but you may go back and read it 10 times in your life. I have. Worship is the pursuit of God and is therefore our whole lives, and Tozer's challenges to you in that pursuit will stay with you for life.

Kids Q&A:

Kids Big Idea: "I love God by telling Him how great He is."
Memory Tool: Hands opened and raised.

Kids often "get" worship easier than adults do. They abandon themselves to it and enjoy it without self-consciousness. This is one core practice where we can probably learn more from them than they can from us, as Jesus himself told us in Matthew 18:14. Expose your kids to worship at church, and to songs of worship at home, and above all don't squelch it. Don't apply adult rules and adult propriety to it. Let worship be play for them, as it should be for us.

Is God conceited? The kids' creed begs this question. Why would God want us to tell Him how great He is? This is a good opportunity to talk about God's uniqueness and the fact that He alone is worthy of worship. God alone should be worshiped because God alone deserves it. He is greater than anyone, the only true God, the King over the universe. He's not conceited. It is His rightful place to be worshiped. Anyone else besides God who wants to be worshiped is conceited.

This core practice is connected to the following core beliefs: Personal God, Trinity, Salvation By Grace, Identity in Christ, Stewardship

Core Practice :: PRAYER

We pray to God to know Him, to lay our requests before Him and to find direction for our daily lives.

Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.

I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.

If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;

but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.

Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!

-Psalm 66:16-20

It's no surprise to anyone that prayer is a core practice of the Christ-life, but the three purposes of prayer in the creed remind us what prayer is really about. First things first: we pray to know God. That alone can change everything where prayer is concerned. Prayer is a dialogue between God and his people--not just a laundry list, a religious duty, or a last resort.

I'm not great at prayer that looks like: sitting quietly, early in the morning or late at night, in a room with my eyes closed, for long periods of time. Some people are, and they impress me. I will probably fall asleep or struggle as my mind wanders all over the place. Understanding prayer as an ongoing conversation between God and me has helped tremendously. I can (and do) pray in all kinds of times and places. In addition to helping me as a pray-er, it's helped me realize that God isn't compartmentalized into only one part of my life. In other words, it's easier for me to "find direction for my daily life." Praying in the morning starts something that can keep going all day in every place and circumstance.

Resource: My favorite book on the subject is a little classic called The Practice of the Presence of God by brother Lawrence. He discovered the greatest secret to living in the Kingdom of God here on earth: "practicing the presence of God in one single act that does not end."

Prayer is related to the following core beliefs: Personal God, Identity in Christ, Salvation by Grace.

Kids Q&A:

Kids' creed: "I love God by talking to him daily"
Hand motion: praying hands

Why do we pray? The kids' creed has the best answer: because it's a way to love God. God wants us to talk with Him. It makes him very happy just to hear from us. And doing it daily establishes a habit kids can carry into old age.

What does prayer sound like? When do you pray? What do you pray about? Kids learn the most about prayer by hearing others pray. Mealtime is a great place to start. Expand mealtime prayer beyond giving thanks for your food. Pray conversationally. Pray about anything and everything.

Why do we say, "In Jesus' name we pray"? This may be a question for older kids, but an important one. By saying those words, we acknowledge the core belief of Salvation By Grace, that Jesus is our only way to God.

Core Belief :: CHURCH

I believe the church is God’s primary way to accomplish His purposes on earth today.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
-Ephesians 4:15-16 TNIV

You may be surprised to hear me say this, but this is a tough one for me. I've been a part of the church my whole life, and church leadership has been my vocation for over 20 years. In that time, my life has been enriched beyond measure through the church, as it has for millions of other people. In that same time, I have been deeply hurt by the church, disappointed in the church, frustrated with the church, and sometimes bored with the church. I've wanted to quit church work several times, and have had others recommend that I do so. You could say I have a love/hate relationship with the church. I often think God could have come up with a better plan. So why am I still here? -because CHURCH is a core belief of Christianity, and you don' get to pick and choose only the ones you like; and because when the church isn't being dysfunctional, there is nothing like it on earth.

If I had to believe that the institutional church--the denominations, the buildings, the national or global organizations, the hierarchy and the bureaucracy--was God's primary way to accomplish His purposes, I might have to bail. But thankfully, that's not actually the church. I can't find any of that stuff in the New Testament. Just like he lived his life, Jesus established his church with amazing simplicity. The 1st-century church thrived--in fact changed the world--without budgets, buildings, headquarters, or media campaigns. All they had was people and the Holy Spirit, which turned out to be a pretty good combination. People, equipped and empowered by the Holy Spirit to love God and their neighbors in ways that changed the world. People were drawn to them like moths to a flame, and embraced Christ and the Christ-life in staggering numbers.

If I didn't think that was still possible right now, right here in our community, I would cash in my chips and quit. I still believe that's what God is up to, if any Christ-followers have the courage to shed the trappings of religion and exchange them for the Christ-life. I love the first word of today's verse: "Instead." Pursue New Testament community instead of religious meetings, and true belonging instead of organizational membership; loving each other radically instead of gathering weekly with pseudo-strangers and acquaintances to listen to a preacher; pursue thinking, acting, and becoming like Christ instead of engaging in religious activity; and giving away our lives together instead of merely writing checks or doing our duty. People who live like that, empowered by the Holy Spirit, change the world. That's the real church. And yes, she is God's primary way to accomplish His purposes in the world. I've seen her, and she's beautiful. One look and you'll fall in love.

E.M. Bounds captured this better than I can in this visionary statement about the church. Ladies, please take the "men" references generically and embrace this vision:

"We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God's plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than anything else. Men are God's method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men."

- Emerson McKendree Bounds

Core Belief :: COMPASSION

We believe God calls all Christians to show compassion to those in need.

Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

-Psalm 82:3-4

Biblical compassion, like love, is not something you feel, but something you do. The wording of the creed above is important: God calls us to show compassion, not just feel it. Compassion--expressed both locally and globally--should be a regular part of every Christ-follower's life. Do you have an outlet for compassion in our community? In your neighborhood? Are you showing compassion to people in need in other parts of the country or the world?

We are surrounded by opportunity. Ike Victims. AIDS orphans. The single mom who lives down the street, and her latchkey kids. A homeless family in Dickinson for whom a Habitat house is being built. An African village in need of a water well. A fundraiser for cancer research. Your elderly neighbor. How do you choose? Prayerfully, and in community. Ask God, and talk to your table group about how you can SERVE together.

From time to time, opportunities for compassion will arise that we will promote to the whole church. Starfish Kenya is one example, as were our trips to Galveston after Ike. But please don't wait for a church announcement to show compassion! I believe our best efforts in this regard won't be church-wide. They will be on the neighborhood level. You might be surprised how compassion opens up opportunities for you to build relationships in your neighborhood, both through serving people and serving with people.

Compassion is a core belief that sounds a lot like a core practice. If we believe it, we will do it. It's closely tied to the "giving away" core practices, as we'll see in a couple of weeks.

Core Belief :: Trinity

We believe the God of the Bible is the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
2 Corinthians 13:14 TNIV

Mystery. That's all the Trinity was to me for many years--one of those inexplicable things about God that just was. You couldn't understand it, or understand why. You just accepted it as true. Or maybe you didn't. I don't remember many sermons about the Trinity. I don't recall it being discussed very often. No teacher or preacher really wanted to talk about something they couldn't explain and may have struggled to understand themselves.

The biggest problem was, "why?" What's the point? Why would God exist in such a confusing way? God existing as three simultaneous and co-equal persons seemed unnecessarily weird, especially if God wanted to relate to human beings.

I didn't understand the Trinity because I didn't understand community. I didn't understand how deeply relationship goes to the core of God's being. And it showed in the way I viewed my own life, the church, and all of Christianity. The Trinity was the clue I was missing.

God is three persons existing in constant and perfect relationship with each other. Once you see that, how could it be otherwise? God's true nature is so opposite of the cosmic Loner we often perceive. Relationship--Love--is so central to His being that it manifests in the Trinity, and his character becomes the model for everything and everyone He has created.

The Trinity is the basis for most of the other core beliefs. Trinity explains why God is a Personal God, why we have Identity in Christ, why all of Humanity is loved by God, why Compassion and Stewardship are important, and is the relational model for the Church. If love, mutual deference, and mutual honor weren't so much a part of who God is, these other things would not be true. God loves us, but God's love has been expressed in His person before there even was such a thing as us.

Maybe we think it's weird because we've sunk that far. Existing that closely in relationship grates against our individualism. It causes us to think twice before we go our own way. But if we embrace God's relational nature, it changes all of life. If Trinity is Truth, then life is different than we thought, and what was once weird about God is now poignant, beautiful, and yes, mysterious.

How much do you truly believe Trinity? Not just as doctrine, but as the model and foundation for life as a Christ-follower. Do you believe in Trinity enough for "me" to give way to "you" and "us"?

Core Belief :: Authority of the Bible

We believe the Bible is the Word of God and has the right to command our belief and action.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God's people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday we affirmed the core belief of a Personal God, which everyone wants to be true even if they don't believe it. Today, not so much. The Authority of the Bible is a controversial belief even among Christians.

According to the New York Times, more copies of the Bible are distributed in a single day than most NYT bestsellers' total printing run. To date, as many as 6 billion copies of the Bible have been printed. And yet, the world always seems to be swirling with conflicting information about the Bible. Can it be trusted? Have the books of the Bible been altered after the fact? Have legends crept into the Bible along with historical facts? Can a 21st century person believe in the biblical creation account?

Then there are the more personal questions. Can I understand the Bible if I read it? Where do I start? How did the Bible become the Bible anyway?

There may be more societal obstacles to embracing this core belief than any of the other 9. And since none of them is simple or trivial, I won't try to address them in this brief post. I will say, though, that after a lot of research--and a lot of personal experience with the Bible--I am more confident than ever that:

• the entire Bible is inspired by God;
• God speaks to us and leads us through it;
• it is historically accurate;
• it is THE standard for spiritual truth in the world; and
• it is the definitive resource on the life and teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Because I am convinced of all of the above, I submit to the authority of the Bible and read it believing that God is communicating directly to me. My experience with the Bible in this regard is beyond words--literally. More is happening than reading words on a page. For instance, I read Jeremiah 1 as a teenager and believed God was using it to guide me into ministry as a vocation. That's only one way that reading the Bible has changed the course of my entire life.

What about you? How has reading the Bible changed your life? Or if any of the questions above (or others) are obstacles for you, ask them in a comment and let's talk about them.

REMEMBER THIS!

Sunday, April 19th the Springs launches into a new teaching series called "Remember This!" Our aim for this series is to take you behind the scenes just a little at our church. It's easy to get caught up in the rituals of church life...even in a church like ours that is only 15 months old. Every week, we mention a "core competency" and say something together, but what is that really? That's exactly what this series will address.

We want to take a strategic look at what we call the 30 Core Competencies of a Christ-follower. These 30 things seem to bubble to the surface of just about every bible story and teaching. It's our desire that every Christ-follower that calls The Springs their church would grow in their levels of competency in these 30 areas.

We've divided up the competencies into sections - 10 Beliefs, 10 Practices and 10 Virtues. Think. Act. Be. It may seem like a lot, but it's really quite simple. You will see.

This Sunday we launch into a 3 part teaching series, and Monday we begin blogging. Each weekday, Cameron and/or Brad will blog about one of the core competencies. Monday, we will begin with our belief that God is a "Personal God."

Hope to see you back here on Monday.