What We Are About Series

“What We’re About”

August 14, 2005

Last week we began discussing our core values. What is it that makes us who we are. We defined core values as the stakes in the ground for our lives and that it was through these values that the heart of our church beats and the mission of our church is fulfilled.

The values we discussed last week were:

1) We desire those professing a relationship with Christ to grow more intimate in their daily walk with Him. This is an act of worship.

2) We desire to produce a community of believers committed to taking the message of the love of Christ to those who need to hear it beyond our walls and into our world. This is an act of evangelism.

3) We desire to promote unity within the church through unconditional love expressed to one another in authentic, nurturing relationships. This is an act of discipleship.

Four More Core Values

1) We desire to empower each member of Countryside Baptist Church to be actively involved in serving others in the body of Christ and serving those outside the church by helping them discover their spiritual giftedness, heart passions, abilities, personality, and experiences. This is an act of ministry.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Maturity in the life of a member of Countryside Baptist Church is moving from being a consumer in the church to being an investor.

“The motivation behind becoming a member is not what can be received, but what can be given.”

Erwin McManus, Mosaic Church Los Angeles

“If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others. And if you want to be first, you must be the slave to the rest. The Son of man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue many people.” Matthew 20:26-28 (Contemporary English Version)

Service is seeing what needs to be done, being willing to do it, and not seeking the credit.

2) We desire to promote within the members of Countryside Baptist Church a common sense of purpose and accountability to the mission, vision, and goals of the church. This is an act of fellowship.

“Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” Ephesians 4:25

“Becoming like Christ is the result of the commitments we make. We become whatever we are committed to.”

Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church

3) We desire to promote a community based on authenticity and trust. We desire for those who worship at Countryside Baptist Church to have a safe place to deal with the issues of life and to live out their salvation before the Lord. It is more important for us to be real and honest before God and one another than to put on a mask to hide our true pains and emotions.

“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7b

“Christianity is about the restoration of community. The movement of Christ is a movement of restoration and reconciliation. When sin came into the world, bringing brokenness it destroyed community. Likewise the human race keeps evolving into a culture of rugged individualists. When Jesus talked about the church he didn’t use the language of an institution or a club where the measure of faithfulness is attendance or performance. Instead he spoke of the church as a body—his body. Being a part of the body is not about attending but connecting.”

Michael Slaughter, Pastor

Ginghamsburg Church, Tipp City, Ohio

4) We desire for Countryside Baptist Church to embrace a culture of change in order to share the message of Jesus Christ in a relevant way to those seeking to know Him. Our values and doctrine will remain steady and in line with scriptural teaching, but our heart will embrace new methods and new ministries so that we may be an effective tool in presenting the gospel to an ever changing culture.

“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” 1 Corinthians 9:19 (The Apostle Paul)

Change is a dangerous concept because it causes us to re-examine our own beliefs and traditions.

If we are not willing to accept change in our method to sharing the message of Christ, we will lose our relevancy and reduce the radical message of Christ to mere religious tradition.

Refusal to change our methodology keeps us safe and secure in our tradition and our comfort zone. But Jesus never called us to be safe.

“How could we ever think that the Christian faith would be safe when its central metaphor is an instrument of death.” Erwin McManus