Tuesday, August 08, 2006

CBC Core Values and Mission Statement

Our church joyfully exists to bring glory to God by spreading the good news to all people and building each other up as we grow in the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Core Values and Objectives:

1. To cooperate as a Southern Baptist church, affirming the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message, emphasizing church planting missions.

2. To be generally consistent with the principles found in Mark Dever’s Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.

3. To enjoy God-centered expository preaching and teaching.

4. To establish a plurality of pastors/elders who will lead and oversee a congregational form of church government.

5. To experience dynamic corporate worship that is Christ-centered, joyfully reverent, and saturated with Scripture.

6. To maintain a consistent celebration of the ordinances (baptism and Lord’s Supper).

7. To promote evangelism that flows from living out the gospel – touching others’ lives with the love of Christ and freely sharing the gospel of Christ.

8. To emphasize shepherding and the development of intentional relationships among members.

9. To have an expectation that a biblically solid and healthy church will experience growth both spiritually and numerically.

10. To emphasize genuine biblical fellowship and discipleship through effective small group ministries.

11. To be actively involved in multiplying our ministries by training leaders and planting churches locally, nationally, and internationally.

9 comments:

- R said...

Justin -

I sure hope this isn't received as criticism or negative in any way, particularly against your new church. It seems they have a lot of energy and seem to be pursuing great goals.

I'm just wondering what your initial thoughts are about aligning with an individual person or organization as a "core value". I think the desire to be "generally consistent with the principles found in Mark Dever’s Nine Marks of a Healthy Church" is a healthy one, but do you think there is wisdom in outlining or summarizing those principles for yourself rather than subscribing to them wholesale? (Some of the marks seem to be incorporated into the other objectives anyway...)

Maybe it's just a personal preference, because even though I tend to agree with (for instance) the "five points of Calvinism" I would probably choose (particularly in published documents) to spell out those points rather than risk pointing to the man John Calvin as the source of my convictions. Does this make sense?

pastor justin said...

Yes, I understand your concern. That is certainly something to think about.

However, I will tell you that this core value (#2) is what initially drew me to Christ Baptist Church. I have found Dever's nine marks to be Biblically consistent and extremely helpful. I want to pastor a church that strives for these healthy marks. So, I'm glad that they included this exact core value, but also understand that many do not know the first thing about Dever's book.

Other's thoughts?

Anonymous said...

Russell,

CBC chose to include this particular book as a part of our values because it strives toward pure church polity, worship, and relationships. We used the words "generally consistent" to recognize Dever's book can never be considered inerrant or compared in any way with Scripture. It’s also the humble recognition that a new church plant needs help and guidance. Biblical teachers will always be needed. We hope that Dever’s book is never a distraction from Christ since Dever himself always points to Christ and the Gospel. But I do think you are right to caution us to never get too enthralled with the thoughts of man above the eternal thoughts of God. If that is ever the case, I pray we will remove that particular value immediately.

Lisa
CBC of Wilson

Anonymous said...

Justin,
This may be a dumb question, but how does having a plurality of church elders work within the congregational government of a church. I have seen one or the other, but I have never seen it toghether. Do the elders make important decisions based on the word of God or does the congregation vote on what they think is best? Also, do your elders only proceed with unanimity or just with a majority. In my former church it was only with unanimity, but there never was voting as there is with Baptist churches.

pastor justin said...

Shannon, you asked: "Do the elders make important decisions based on the Word of God or does the congregation vote on what they think is best?"

The answer: Yes.

The Congregation elects the elders and trust their leadership and wisdom. The elders bring the important decisions to the congregation to confirm God's leading.
In my judgment, this is the most Biblically faithful model of church government.

I would point you to resources like Mark Dever's "A Display of God's Glory" and "By Whose Authority." These are both booklets that can be found on the 9marks.org website.
Also, "Elders in Congregational Life" by Phil Newton.

There is a growing number of churches realizing that this is the most Biblical and helpful way to structure a church.

KS said...

Justin,

i know this has nothing to do with your post, but I updated my CJ Mahaney's Audio Page. New Link
Can you update your link?

Unknown said...

This is great. I am so glad to see another faithful church that values planting, and it's not in the bible belt. bty, I think Strauch's 'Biblical Eldership' is the best out there.

The Taras' said...

We werent at our church when the elders were selected. But I wonder if it is anything like when the elders chose decons. The elders prayed about and sought out men who were already faithful in serving in our body and then brought them before the congregation. They asked us to be in prayer about the men and that if we knew of any particular sin issues in these mens lives that would disqualify them from serving as decons to let them know. But other than that, we didnt have any other involvement.

Is that what you ment Justin when you say that the congregation "elects" elders? Is it kind of the same? Or do they really vote?

pastor justin said...

Yes, we really vote. This is why regenerate church membership is so important. You don't want unbelievers voting on these important issues.