ONE MORE THING…
The Seven Principles of Christian Nonconformity
“Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is – what is good and pleasing and mature.” -- Romans 12.2 (CEB)
Happy New Year Church!
Since agreeing to remain as pastor, the assignment you have given to me is to bring the congregation together to work at spiritual renewal. We are working at that renewal in three ways. 1) By coming together as a church around the discipleship values of worshipping God as revealed in scripture, caring for one another through peaceful practices, and serving our neighbors with generosity. 2) By aligning our leadership systems so that our congregational leadership board sets policy with the assistance of a lead pastor and foundation groups, and our elders and staff collaborate to guide our ministries (elders) and coach those doing ministry (staff). 3) By preparing for the future by communicating more intentionally, acknowledging the changes in our culture, and planning for healthy leadership succession.
This three-phase process of renewal, which we refer to as Church Together, Pivot with Mosaic, and BG Next is a good process, but what are the underlying themes of our transformational efforts? Romans 12.2 tells us that renewal puts us out of step with the world as it is and puts us on a journey together with Jesus that is dedicated to discovering the world that God intends for us to inhabit.
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to write about seven key principles for being a Christian Nonconformist:
1. Discipleship | To be a Christian is to follow Jesus daily in life.
2. Bible | Reliance on the Bible, which is the only true narrative of God’s design.
3. Community | The Christian Way cannot be done in isolation – it requires community.
4. Conversion | The church is a community of rescued sinners who are being converted into saints.
5. Reconciliation | Our great purpose as Christians is to engage in acts that help to reconcile our neighbors to God.
6. The Cross | It is the faithfulness of Jesus, demonstrated in his death and resurrection, that cleanses us from sin and reconciles us to God.
7. Activism | Following Jesus daily in life transforms the world as it is into the world God intends it to be.
No competing ideology, including contemporary expressions of Christian Nationalism nor Therapeutic Moral Deism can truly renew our minds so that we conform not to the world, but to God.
So, let’s go, church (and be nonconformists in the Way of Jesus)!
Pastor Jeff
jeff@bgmc.net