Student Ministry Values
TWO14 is a vintage Christian community on mission with God.
Vintage means that we hold to the ancient Gospel of Jesus Christ. We seek to be historically orthodox in our faith as well as authentically relevant to today's culture. We are Christian. This means that we embrace the word of God (the Bible) as His revelation of Himself to mankind. We are a community. This means that we believe in true friendship based on Christian love, accountability, and transparency. We are on mission because of Jesus' words in Matthew 28:18-20 commonly known as the great commission. We have a job to do. But this is a job that we do by being. We are being the church when we love God and love people (Matt 22:37-40). We are on mission with God. He is working. His work is the result of His being. He sends because He is a sending God. The Father sent the Son (John 4:34). The Father and Son sent the Spirit (Therefore, Christian work or mission is one that also comes out of being. We work because we are Christians. We are Christians because of the work of God the Father through the Son and by the Spirit.
Truth
The first value is truth. There is a very common misconception of truth
in today's culture. Many think that
truth is relative instead of objective.
Rorty is credited with saying that truth is "what your friends will let
you get away with saying." This is the
social construct or relative view of truth.
This is a misunderstanding between epistemology (the philosophy of
knowledge) and ontology (the philosophy of reality). Although truth can only be obtained
subjectively by relative circumstances, truth itself remains objective. Truth may be viewed through the lenses of
subjectivity and warped by our flawed descriptions and interpretations of
it. Nevertheless, truth is, in the words
of Aristotle, "To say of what is, that it is, and what is not, that it is not,
is truth." This is known as the
correspondence theory of truth. So we
deny that truth itself is relative.
Instead we maintain that truth has been revealed from God in
the person of Jesus Christ, the Bible and creation. Truth incarnate is found in the God-man Jesus
Christ. The Bible is the word of God and
as such is true and authoritative. The
creation "declares the glory of God" and as such is to be studied in the
various sciences and liberal arts.
Therefore we will teach and preach Jesus Christ, crucified, buried and
risen from the dead according to the Scriptures, in an intellectually informed,
and spirit filled way. We believe that
the Bible is God's special revelation to mankind and is to be studied, obeyed
and proclaimed to all. The creation
consists of what is commonly known by theologians as the general
revelation. God's handiwork can be seen,
and should be studied in all areas of academics including but not limited to
mathematics, philosophy, general and specific sciences, literature, and all the
liberal arts.
Art is a subset of truth in that it expresses truth in an emotional way. Music, sculpture, painting, writing and other forms of art are beautiful representations to the extent that they accurately represent their object. We reject the notion that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and claim that beauty is objective in the mind of God. Therefore, we evaluate beauty and art on the basis of the divine. We value art as an integral part of God's created order. Because God is creative, so should his creation. Because all that He created is good and beautiful, likewise human creation is to be a worshipful representation of the mind of God.
Heritage
History is replete with the glorious story
of God's redemption. Because we value
our heritage from the ancient Israelites, the early church, the medievals and
reformers, we look to them for guidance.
Therefore history should be valued because it not only guards us from
making the same grievous errors of those who have come before us, but it also reminds us that God has been faithful
in the past. Knowing that the ways of
God in the past are a pattern and a promise of how He will act in the future,
we study all history in an attempt to be warned and encouraged.
Biblical history is the personal revelation of God as the Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer and Judge of His creation. The history of mankind is the story of our constant failure, attempted progress and continued failure to solve the problem of human existence tainted by sin. We seek to connect with the ancients with the study of their writings and exercising of their lifestyles as it reflects authentic Christianity. This includes but is not limited to the employment of spiritual disciplines, celebrating sacred holy days and traditions, and being informed by their views on particular theological issues. We also hold true to the ancient faith articulated in the Apostle's, Nicean and Chalcedonian creeds.
Community
Authentic Christian community consists of transparent, intimate, sacrificial friendships that include discipline and accountability before God. The Christian community functions very differently than the rest of the world in that we do not easily give up on one another but we persevere, celebrate, mourn, teach, rebuke and generally look out for the well being of each other (Rom 12:5, 10; 15:7, 14; Gal 5:13, 6:2; Eph 4:2; Phil. 2:3).
Churches are typically based on a consumer model that sees church staff as dealers of religious goods and services. Such examples may include such things like youth groups, worship services, recovery programs, etc. Instead of fostering this misconception, we reject it by emphasizing the need for authentic friendships based on the New Testament word koinonia. This includes but is not limited to accountability, openness, and sacrifice.
We also believe that strong families make for a strong church. Since the structure of the church is based on the structure of the family, the issue of familial roles is paramount. We see men as being the leaders of their families through sacrifice, love and repentance. Men are called to love their wives like Jesus loves the church. Men are commanded to raise godly children who are secure. It is the responsibility of the man to represent God to his wife through provision and protection. Men are called to protect and provide for their families both physically and spiritually. Therefore, we see men as being pastors of their families. Individuals without Godly fathers must be adopted into the family of God and taught truth and love from surrogate fathers in the church. Young single men should lead responsible lives preparing for marriage and family by getting an education, a lucrative job and a house, not squandering their early adulthood on prostitutes and beer. We reject the cultural perpetuation of adolescence into the early twenties and insist that teenagers be prepared for adulthood by their fathers. At the end of the day, the man of the house is responsible for the spiritual and physical well being of himself and his household.
Mission
God is a sending God. The Father sent the Son. The Father and the Son sent the Spirit. The Spirit sends us. Acts 1:8, Matt. 28:18-20. TWO14 will be a ministry that sends its people out to do the work of God in our culture. Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Mat. 5:16)
This sending involves three primary ministries. The first is social action which includes feeding the poor, helping the oppressed and caring for the hurting. The second leg of our being sent is about establishing friendships with unbelievers through acts of hospitality whereby we may be able to model and articulate the Gospel. The third ministry will be church planting. As we saw in the vision statement, we seek to be a church planting church.
Beauty
Beauty is not a subjective concept rather an
objective reality. This is because God
is beautiful. Truth is beautiful. God incarnated in Jesus was attractive to
those who were dead spiritually. We
think it an indictment on (post)modern Christianity when those who are
unchurched are put off by those who claim to be followers of Jesus. On the contrary, Christians rightly
reflecting God are beautiful and as such are attractive to the lost. This beauty can be seen as the church speaks
love to the culture through its missional lifestyle. Very few people are antagonistic towards
love. For this reason, love is the
universal language that everyone understands.
Love is also one of the primary characteristics of God. Truth, beauty and love are interconnected in
the Godhead and ought to characterize God's people.
This value has a lot to do with style and feel. It will be worked out in authentic relationships, timely communication and the overall vibe of our presence. The true test of whether or not we are disciples who are in line with our godly ancestors, who love the truth, are in communion with one another, and are on mission with God is whether or not the lost are attracted. Love is known by her deeds. This is a truth the lost sometimes have a better feel for than Christians.
