Statement of Basic Beliefs and Practices
1. God exists and is the self-existent eternal creator of the universe.
2. God created mankind to be unique above all other created things in that he is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26).
3. God created woman to be the perfect, the only suitable and appropriately designed, both mentally and physically, mate for man. No other created thing was found to be a suitable mate for man (Genesis 2:18-25).
4. God communicated to man in earlier times through the prophets, but speaks today to us through His son Jesus who sent the Holy Spirit to infallibly guide the apostles and others in the writing of the New Testament (Hebrews 1:1-2; John 14:26; John 16:13-14). The Bible has survived, by God's protection, with many efforts to destroy it.
5. God guided the writers of the Old Testament (2nd Peter 1:21) and it has been divinely preserved for our learning and as a record of God's dealings with mankind down thru the ages.
6. WE accept the Bible as our only source of authority for all things spiritual and believe that it is meant to be interpreted literally. We have no creed books, no church manuals, no mission statement. We believe that any book which has more than the Bible has too much and any book which has less than the Bible has too little. Therefore, we reject any humanly created document meant to govern or guide our worship, our teaching, and our practice.
7. Each Congregation is autonomous (self-governed) with no central governing body. Jesus is the Head of the Church. The Bible is its constitution, its Church manual, and its infallible guide. Our mission is the Bible imperative to go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).
8. Following the Bible pattern, we have evangelists who preach and teach God's Word, the Bible (Ephesians 4:11-13). We have Elders (pastors) who oversee the Church (Acts 20:17-28; 1st Timothy 3:1- 7; 1st Peter 5:1-3). We have Deacons who serve the Church (1st Timothy 3:8-13). These are all to be men who have demonstrated over time to have submitted themselves to God's word, the Bible, and have avoided such sins as are mentioned in 1st Corinthians 6:9-10 and Galatians 5:19-21, and have practiced such things as mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 and 2nd Peter 1:5-10. The Elders are charged with deciding the scriptural acceptability of any issue that arises and determining what action if any must follow. They should do so seeking the advice of the Evangelist and the congregation when possible.
9. The Bible mentions several things that one who wants to become a Christian and be added to the fellowship of the Church must do. They must believe that God exists (Hebrews 11:6). They must be willing to profess that faith before others (Matthew 10:32-33; Mark 8:38). They must be willing to repent, change their thinking and their way of life (Luke 13:3). They must renounce such sins as listed in 1st Corinthians 6:9-10 and Galatians 5:19-21, and adopt the kind of thinking and behavior listed in Galatians 5:22-23 and 2nd Peter 1:5-10. They must be willing to be Baptized (immersed in water) for the forgiveness of their sins and to allow God to add them to the Church (Acts 2:37-47). They must strive to live faithfully for the remainder of life. The Bible teaches that those who fail to live in such a fashion should be disciplined by the Church and even, if unrepentant, to be removed from the fellowship of the Church (1st Corinthians 5:11; Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15).
10. We maintain a church building to provide for the assembling of our members for worship, evangelism, and fellowship. The public is invited to assemble with us if their purpose is to learn from the Bible and to maintain a reverent worshipful demeanor. Anyone creating a deliberate disturbance, disruption, or debate will be asked to leave, and if necessary, law enforcement may be called. We do not allow our building or property to be used for any activity, marriage ceremony, or program that does not conform to Biblical imperatives. We do not allow loud secular music, the consumption of alcoholic beverages, the use of tobacco products, or any indecent clothing or behavior.
11. The Bible teaches that homosexual behavior is sinful (1st Corinthians 6:9-10; Romans 1:26-28). The Bible also gives God's definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:18- 25; Matthew 19:4-6). For the Christian, that definition can never be changed by man or government. The Bible teaches us that marriage is a civil union but also a God ordained union "what God has joined together, let not man put asunder" (Matthew 19:6). For these reasons we do not allow homosexual marriages or any other homosexual activity in our building. We would not allow usage of our building to a person who owns a liquor store, a store that sells pornographic materials, or one who engages in polygamy, incest, sexual molestation, or any other Biblically unacceptable behavior.
12. Anyone employed by the Church for a spiritual purpose, whether it be as an evangelist or preacher, a song leader, a teacher or a guest speaker, must be a member in good standing of a scripturally conservative congregation of the Church of Christ. Anyone wishing to address the congregation for any purpose may do so only at the discretion of the elders.
All of the above is not meant to be an exhaustive list of every long and firmly believed Biblical teaching held by Bearwallow Road Church of Christ. All of these beliefs as well as many other beliefs have been passed from generation to generation verbally and from the study of the Bible since the establishment of our congregation in the late 1800s. These are recorded to allow those unfamiliar with the Church of Christ to be aware of our most basic beliefs and practices.
Posted January 1, 2016 by Richard Greene and Johnny Harris, Elders
2. God created mankind to be unique above all other created things in that he is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26).
3. God created woman to be the perfect, the only suitable and appropriately designed, both mentally and physically, mate for man. No other created thing was found to be a suitable mate for man (Genesis 2:18-25).
4. God communicated to man in earlier times through the prophets, but speaks today to us through His son Jesus who sent the Holy Spirit to infallibly guide the apostles and others in the writing of the New Testament (Hebrews 1:1-2; John 14:26; John 16:13-14). The Bible has survived, by God's protection, with many efforts to destroy it.
5. God guided the writers of the Old Testament (2nd Peter 1:21) and it has been divinely preserved for our learning and as a record of God's dealings with mankind down thru the ages.
6. WE accept the Bible as our only source of authority for all things spiritual and believe that it is meant to be interpreted literally. We have no creed books, no church manuals, no mission statement. We believe that any book which has more than the Bible has too much and any book which has less than the Bible has too little. Therefore, we reject any humanly created document meant to govern or guide our worship, our teaching, and our practice.
7. Each Congregation is autonomous (self-governed) with no central governing body. Jesus is the Head of the Church. The Bible is its constitution, its Church manual, and its infallible guide. Our mission is the Bible imperative to go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).
8. Following the Bible pattern, we have evangelists who preach and teach God's Word, the Bible (Ephesians 4:11-13). We have Elders (pastors) who oversee the Church (Acts 20:17-28; 1st Timothy 3:1- 7; 1st Peter 5:1-3). We have Deacons who serve the Church (1st Timothy 3:8-13). These are all to be men who have demonstrated over time to have submitted themselves to God's word, the Bible, and have avoided such sins as are mentioned in 1st Corinthians 6:9-10 and Galatians 5:19-21, and have practiced such things as mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 and 2nd Peter 1:5-10. The Elders are charged with deciding the scriptural acceptability of any issue that arises and determining what action if any must follow. They should do so seeking the advice of the Evangelist and the congregation when possible.
9. The Bible mentions several things that one who wants to become a Christian and be added to the fellowship of the Church must do. They must believe that God exists (Hebrews 11:6). They must be willing to profess that faith before others (Matthew 10:32-33; Mark 8:38). They must be willing to repent, change their thinking and their way of life (Luke 13:3). They must renounce such sins as listed in 1st Corinthians 6:9-10 and Galatians 5:19-21, and adopt the kind of thinking and behavior listed in Galatians 5:22-23 and 2nd Peter 1:5-10. They must be willing to be Baptized (immersed in water) for the forgiveness of their sins and to allow God to add them to the Church (Acts 2:37-47). They must strive to live faithfully for the remainder of life. The Bible teaches that those who fail to live in such a fashion should be disciplined by the Church and even, if unrepentant, to be removed from the fellowship of the Church (1st Corinthians 5:11; Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15).
10. We maintain a church building to provide for the assembling of our members for worship, evangelism, and fellowship. The public is invited to assemble with us if their purpose is to learn from the Bible and to maintain a reverent worshipful demeanor. Anyone creating a deliberate disturbance, disruption, or debate will be asked to leave, and if necessary, law enforcement may be called. We do not allow our building or property to be used for any activity, marriage ceremony, or program that does not conform to Biblical imperatives. We do not allow loud secular music, the consumption of alcoholic beverages, the use of tobacco products, or any indecent clothing or behavior.
11. The Bible teaches that homosexual behavior is sinful (1st Corinthians 6:9-10; Romans 1:26-28). The Bible also gives God's definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:18- 25; Matthew 19:4-6). For the Christian, that definition can never be changed by man or government. The Bible teaches us that marriage is a civil union but also a God ordained union "what God has joined together, let not man put asunder" (Matthew 19:6). For these reasons we do not allow homosexual marriages or any other homosexual activity in our building. We would not allow usage of our building to a person who owns a liquor store, a store that sells pornographic materials, or one who engages in polygamy, incest, sexual molestation, or any other Biblically unacceptable behavior.
12. Anyone employed by the Church for a spiritual purpose, whether it be as an evangelist or preacher, a song leader, a teacher or a guest speaker, must be a member in good standing of a scripturally conservative congregation of the Church of Christ. Anyone wishing to address the congregation for any purpose may do so only at the discretion of the elders.
All of the above is not meant to be an exhaustive list of every long and firmly believed Biblical teaching held by Bearwallow Road Church of Christ. All of these beliefs as well as many other beliefs have been passed from generation to generation verbally and from the study of the Bible since the establishment of our congregation in the late 1800s. These are recorded to allow those unfamiliar with the Church of Christ to be aware of our most basic beliefs and practices.
Posted January 1, 2016 by Richard Greene and Johnny Harris, Elders