What We Believe

  • Jesus and the Bible–understood from the same Hebrew worldview in which it was written
  • Hard sayings and seeming contradictions in the Bible become clear from a Hebrew point of view
  • Jesus didn’t give us a theology; he showed us a Way of living life in God’s presence
  • Our faith must make good common sense before it makes anything else
  • God can never be figured out intellectually–faith is not what we think, but how we live
  • In debating religious concepts we can’t know, we often forget what we do know: how to treat each other
  • While  “Christian” can have conflicting meanings in our culture today, we are always unabashed followers of Jesus
  • Living Jesus’ Way is not legal, but relational, not conforming–following rules, but transforming–seeing life in a completely different way
  • Living in fear of punishment has no place in a faith built on unconditional love
  • Church should provide the community, accountability, structure, discipline, and service each of us needs to experience our real identity, meaning, and purpose
  • Without living what we say we believe, what we say we believe is irrelevant
  • Jesus’ Good News is…there is no bad news: we are as forgiven as we want to be

traditional within non-traditional

We hold a firm belief in the traditional essentials of the Christian faith—the Bible as the inspired word of God; of one God manifested as Father, Son and Spirit; the resurrection of Jesus; the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit–but at the same time, we believe that viewing those traditional essentials from a non-traditional, Hebrew viewpoint is also essential if that viewpoint gets us closer to the original intent of Jesus’ message. Jesus didn’t so much give us a theology as show us a Way of living life in God’s presence. He didn’t so much create a new religion as purify the hearts of his followers within the context of the religion they already had. When we return Jesus’ message as recorded in the New Testament to its original language and culture, an amazing shift occurs.

Putting ourselves in the sandals of the first hearers of Jesus’ message, we have come to believe that if we can make the radical shift that Jesus called being born again, we can begin a process that focuses not on heaven or hell, but on this moment right here and now. We can see ourselves as we are—in unity with each other and God’s presence.

This Way of living life, this quality of life lived in unity with God and each other is what Jesus called Kingdom. As Jesus said, “The waiting is over. The Kingdom is here.” (Mark 1:15) We have decided to stop waiting and to start living theeffect of God’s love right here and now in each relationship and each moment and person that crosses our paths.

For more of what we believe on specific subjects, see our Articles page: especially the “foundational” articles on love, talimidim, kingdom, law, and scripture, to see how Jesus’ Way plays out in central areas of our spiritual lives.  And for a deeper look, there is The Fifth Way.

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Everyone is recovering from something… Admitting this is the first step in spiritual life, because any unfinished business in our lives–trauma, unforgiveness, fear-based perceptions–fosters compulsive behavior and keeps us from connecting spiritually and emotionally.

Since we’re all recovering, we accept everyone right as they are—no expiration dates or deadlines. We don’t tell anyone what to believe or do. We present points of view that we hope will engage seekers in their own journey; help them unlearn limiting perceptions, beliefs, and compulsions; give opportunities to get involved in community, building the trust we all need to find real identity, meaning, and purpose. In other words, to engage the transforming Way of living life that Jesus called Kingdom…non-religiously understood from a first century Hebrew point of view.

 

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Embedded in the fun and laughter of each of our gatherings and events is the connection and accountability as well as the structure, discipline, and opportunity for service that authentic community is all about. We help create programs for physical support, emotional recovery, and spiritual formation that can meet any person’s needs. Such programs work at two levels: first to address a person’s physical and emotional stability—clinical, financial, relational,professional—anything that distracts from working on the second level: true spiritual formation centered around the contemplative way of life defined by an original Hebrew understanding of the message of Jesus.

Rather than telling people what to believe or think, we model and encourage engagement in a personal and communal spiritual journey that allows people to experience their own worthiness of connection and acceptance, to find the freedom from underlying fears that brings real meaning and purpose into focus.

 

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Seeing ourselves as a learning and recovery community that worships together, the focus isn’t on Sunday morning alone, but on every day of the week as we gather for worship, healing and support workshops, studies, 12 step meetings, counseling and mentoring sessions, referral services, and social events. We maintain a food pantry for those needing more support, a recovery worship gathering, and child care for those with little ones.

Our Sunday gathering starts at 10AM and our Recovery gathering on Tuesdays at 7PM. Both gatherings include worship with one of the best worship bands in the area. See our monthly calendar and our Facebook page to stay in touch with what is happening each week. You can also sign up on our elist for email enews updates.

 

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