Biblically Grounded

The first core value of RCC is that we will be a biblically grounded church. By "biblically grounded church" I am speaking of a community of Jesus that take their cues predominately from and structures themselves around, the teachings and examples of the Bible.

Some may be thinking "Well of course RCC will be biblically grounded. It's a church!" Unfortunately though, the idea of church as we know it, is not synonymous with a biblical structure.

 As a pastor, I have spent some time studying the scriptures to better understand what the church was intended to be and as I did, the chasm between current church practices that I was observing and the Biblical model of church seemed to deepen. Somehow, methods that are borrowed from government, business, and cool church trends have eclipsed the definition found in the Bible. Over the years, these extra-biblical models can become fiercely protected even at the demise of the church itself.  I recently read author/pastor Francis Chan who asked the dangerous and much needed question, "If you were on a desert island with nothing but the Bible, would scripture lead you to build the church the way it looks today in America?"

Biblically grounded churches are desperately needed today. The word "church" is continuing to loose its power and purpose. As confusion and disenfranchisement plague former church goers, the whole idea of church is becoming redefined by those who are fed up but have not yet studied its biblical understanding.

The Bible has a lot to say about what the church actually is and it is far more than a few friends hanging out over a beer while talking about Jesus or having a Bible study in a home or being alone on a lake or experiencing good feelings.

Mark Driscoll, in his book Vintage Church does a good job at summing up the biblical church, when he writes,"The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and Communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission as missionaries to the world for God's glory and their joy."

Although this definition is not entirely complete, it helps in bringing a biblically grounded understanding of how we are to function as the church together.

At RCC, we seek to structure ourselves on our study and understanding of the Biblical model. Yet, will also honor the traditions and roots of the historical church as well as pull from various models including business and church trends. The difference though, is that everything except the Biblical structure, is held loosely, considered to be liquid, changeable, as the culture around us changes, in order to reach it. The Bible never looses its relevancy for humanity. How we express that relevancy should and must change without compromising its eternal truths.