While the
Early Church was certainly plagued with problems as the New Testament makes
abundantly clear there was a simplicity present that was lost after the 4th
century and the 'conversion' of Constantine. It was at this point that a host
of changes began to enter the Church and many congregations of our own time who
seek to follow Scripture have not yet purged themselves of these unfortunate
and unbiblical traditions.
Like other
churches we sing hymns, pray, read and exposit Scripture but you won't find
either the trappings of the High Church or the gimmicks of the contemporary.
We have no
desire to acquire a building. During the first centuries of the Church,
Christians did not have buildings and in the subsequent medieval period there
were Christians opposing the Roman Catholic Church who were happy to meet in
homes, barns, cellars, forests and caves. Rather than acquire a building and
take on the trappings of an institution we would rather see new congregations
form along the same pattern.
Our meetings
are for encouragement, exhortation and the offering of praise and thanksgiving.
We firmly believe that doctrine is of the essence of the Christian life. Many
have tried to downplay doctrine and instead turn to an emphasis on life and
practice. While we understand their concern to make the Christian walk vital
and not merely intellectual, even how we live our lives and practice our faith
are rooted in doctrine. There's no 'How To' without first establishing the
'What'.
Ideas or
Theology without practice are blind and dead but practice and lifestyle with no
foundational doctrines is blind and quickly can become terribly misguided.
We believe
we can focus on doctrine without sacrificing vitality and in fact if we're
grasping what the Scriptures teach our knowledge should produce love and
vitality, it should enhance our zeal to live for Christ and be fruitful.
The
Antithesis, our separate identity that we are to have with regard to the
culture is established by what we believe and who we are in Christ and cannot
rest upon a foundation of culture taboos about hairstyles and clothing. The
Scripture speaks to gender and modesty but some have erred in making these things
the heart of the gospel.
Our lives
are to be quite different according to the patterns of Scripture, not the
traditions of men masquerading as Biblical truth.