What We Believe

"Instead of thinking of God as a noun it is perhaps more useful to think of God as a verb. For God is known through action. To say we need to be the place where God speaks means that we need to be the place where God moves through the world. We have to endeavor to be that place where we embody the life of God instead of merely talking about God." -Peter Rollins



We are part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a movement for wholeness in our fragmented world.  While Disciples do not embrace a formal creed, we point to Jesus Christ as our foundational window to the Sacred.  Contemporary writer Marcus Borg offers a phrase that describes this well, “Jesus shows us what God is like and what being full of God is like.”  Many Disciples like to say their faith is “defined by Jesus, but not necessarily confined to Jesus.” 

Here are some other distinguishing characteristics that are valued by many Disciples:

• We believe the umbrella of God's love, as exemplified by Jesus Christ, is big enough for everyone to be welcomed
• We believe that love, not doctrine, holds us together
• We believe the deepest expression of our faith is found in the way we treat others
• We believe it is important to take the Bible seriously, but not always literally
• We believe scripture offers us an opportunity to join in conversation with our ancient sisters and brothers in faith and to experience the stories of faith
• We believe it is important for faith to value both the mind and the heart
• We believe conversation and dialogue on issues of faith is vitally important and that we learn from one another's diversity
• We believe being stewards of the environment is a deeply spiritual act
• We believe listening to others and respecting them is a deeply spiritual act
• We believe the wisdom offered from other faith traditions can complement and enrich our spiritual journeys
• We believe we are called to embody the same kind of profound compassion that was seen in Jesus’ life, and to follow in his footsteps by standing up for the oppressed and by offering a voice for the voiceless