Discovery An introduction to Community Bible Church of Lawrence, Kansas
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Contents: Our History …………………..………….……………. 3 Our Beliefs …………………...………….……………. 4 Our Purpose ……………………………….………….. 5
Our Mission…………………………..…….………….. 6 Our Vision ……………………………….…………….. 7 Our Core Values ……….…………..…….………… 8-9 Common Questions ……………………..……….10-14 Our Membership …………………………………….. 15
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Our History In order to understand
Community Bible Church (CBC) is part of what is commonly called ―the modern Bible Church movement‖.
Early in the 20th century, most Christians were part of a mainline denomination. But a great division was taking place at that time between liberals and fundamentalists. first consider our Simply put, the liberals did not believe the Bible to be the history. inerrant word of God. The fundamentalists did. Though ―fundamentalist‖ can mean something very different today, a century ago it was a broad term used to refer to all those who believed the Bible to be the Word of God without error.
who we are, we must
Bible churches, Bible institutes and seminaries sprang up as fundamentalists began leaving the mainline denominations. This is basically where the modern Bible Church movement was born. The primary motivation behind this movement was proclamation—a focus on declaring the Biblical message. In the late 1960’s, Gene Getz—a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary— detected a shortcoming of the Bible Church movement (as well as many other types of churches). Bible churches had been established to proclaim the Biblical message at a time when that was desperately needed. But Getz—in his book, Building Up One Another—explains that the shortcoming for most Bible churches was a lack of emphasis on fellowship. Many were lacking true, Biblical ―body life.‖ At the same time, Ray Stedman, pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, was exploring a similar emphasis in that congregation. He published a book in the early 1970’s entitled Body Life calling churches to return to a Biblical model of the church that emphasizes both truth and loving community. God used both these men and others to influence many church planters and pastors over the past few decades. Many Bible churches were planted as a result—including Community Bible Church of Lawrence, Kansas. CBC was planted in 1982 by Dallas Seminary graduate, Chuck Thomas, who pastored from 1982 to 2005. Our current pastor, Shaun LePage, is also a graduate of Dallas Seminary who served as Associate Pastor and Elder for a church plant in Coppell, Texas, from 1991-2005. CBC remains committed to our roots: proclaiming the Biblical message as well as establishing a community characterized by Christ-like love. This commitment is rooted in the strong convictions that the local church is highly significant in God’s eyes and has been given some very important work to do.
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Our Beliefs In order to become a member of CBC, you must agree to five basic doctrines of the Christian faith.
The By-laws of CBC state that ―All members must whole-heartedly agree with the Articles of Faith.‖
ARTICLES OF FAITH
A. THE TRINITY: God exists in three eternal, co-equal persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. B. THE PERSON OF CHRIST: Full deity and full humanity are forever united in one sinless, virgin-born person, the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. C. THE WORK OF CHRIST: The death of Christ served as a perfect, Godsatisfying, substitutionary payment of the penalty for the sins of the world. His bodily resurrection guaranteed the hope of life eternal for all who believe in Him. D. PERSONAL SALVATION: One receives God’s forgiveness, deliverance from eternal separation from God and the free gift of eternal life when one places complete, personal trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as the only and sufficient Savior from sin. E. REVELATION: God has revealed Himself and His will through the inerrant, divinely-inspired Old and New Testaments alone.
Our full doctrinal statement is available on our website (community-bible.org). We do not require members to agree with every point of our doctrine, but we want you to know what will be taught at CBC.
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Our Purpose,
A clear understanding of our purpose
and mission leads to an exciting
Our purpose is stated throughout Scripture, but Ephesians 3:21 makes it very clear: ―…To (God) be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen‖ (Ephesians 3:21). Every church and every individual believer in every generation have the same purpose: to glorify God.
vision for the local church.
Our mission was given by Jesus at the end of His earthly ministry. He commanded His disciples: ―Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age‖ (Matthew 28:19-20). This is our mission and is the primary way we are to fulfill our purpose. Our vision is simply a dream. To have vision is to imagine what our great God can do in and through us in our time and in our place. To have vision is to pray big prayers that God will use us to fulfill our God-given purpose and mission. We express our vision with three words: Connect. Grow. Serve.
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Our Mission: The Great Commission And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) “…Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit…” meant that each new disciple needed to publically and formally identify himself with Jesus Christ and His people—the Church. In other words, he needed to be connected. The first century church fulfilled the Great Commission command of “baptizing” by inviting people to believe in Christ for eternal life and baptizing with water those who believed.
“Go, therefore…” (literally “going”), was a command given to mature disciples who were ready to serve Jesus Christ by making more disciples. In other words, they were equipped to serve as the Body of Christ and evangelize the world—making new disciples. The first century church fulfilled the Great Commission command of “going” by helping believers identify their roles in the Body of Christ and entrusting them with the work of ministry.
“…Teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…” meant that new disciples needed to grow in their understanding of the teaching of Christ and His Apostles—which is now contained in the New Testament. The first century church fulfilled the Great Commission command of “teaching” by gathering new believers into local churches and “establishing” or “strengthening” them in the faith. 6
Our Vision: Connect. Grow. Serve. The Great Commission of the first century is the mission of the twenty-first century. Clearly, “making disciples of all the nations” meant that the Great Commission would take time and a unified effort. All disciples of Jesus Christ must participate in this great work “even to the end of the age.” In every generation, the disciples of Jesus Christ need to connect themselves to Him and His people. Baptism serves as the first public connection. Then formal church membership and consistent fellowship continue our public identification with Christ and His Church.
In every generation, the servants of Christ have eternally significant work to do: sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. This work requires that we serve our Lord together as a “body”—the Body of Christ. We should be unified in our efforts to serve Christ by helping others connect with Christ and His Church and grow to maturity in Christ.
In every generation, Christians need to learn the commands of Christ and His Apostles so that they can grow to maturity in Christ. For this reason, connection to local church ministry is vital. Within the Godestablished community of faith, disciples should learn and be encouraged to live out what they learn. 7
Our Core Values
Core Values go beyond doctrine
to explain what values we believe should drive the ministry of Community Bible Church.
Our Core Values were developed in 2005 by the Elder Board during a period of renewal. They are not Scripture and they are subject to update and change. But, they serve as a reminder to us of the values we believe God wants us to embrace and live out.
We value prayer. God desires His people to pray and He hears and answers prayer. God’s work in and through us enables us to accomplish significant service that brings glory to Him. Therefore, in all ministries, activities, and planning of this church, we will seek God’s wisdom, will and blessing through prayer. (Acts 2:42, Ephesians 6:18, Philippians 4:6-7) We value authentic, diverse worship. True meaningful worship acknowledges God’s supreme value and worth and His blessings of us, both individually and corporately. We strive to encourage sincere personal worship that becomes a normal part of day-to-day living. We also strive to worship together in a manner that is contemporary, yet retains the rich heritage of the past. (Romans 12:1-2, John 4:24, Psalm 98:1) We value spiritual growth. Numerical growth is not necessarily a sign of a successful church. Spiritual growth is. The Bible teaches that maturity is the goal of ministry (Colossians 1:28,29; Hebrews 5:12-14; Ephesians 4:11-16). Therefore, we desire to be a church that encourages Christians to grow in Christlikeness—the very definition of maturity. (Luke 6:40; Ephesians 5:1, 2, 2225; Philippians 2:5-8) We value applicational Bible teaching. The Bible is God’s inspired Word, timeless and timely, relevant to the common needs of all people at all times and to the specific problems of today's world. Therefore, we are committed to equipping Christians, through the accurate teaching and application of God’s Word, to follow Christ and become more like Him in every aspect of life. (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17, James 1:22) We value community. As a community, we value caring for each person by cultivating deep relationships, developed regularly (not just on Sunday) in a climate of friendship and fellowship, prayer and encouragement, worship, the application of the Word of God in our lives, and thus impacting the world in which we live. (Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 10:24-25; Proverbs 27:17) We value every member ministry. Every member has been gifted by God for His purposes and our common good. Leaders will equip and every member will
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encourage each other to fulfill God’s design for each to be a minister. (Ephesians 4:11-17, Hebrews 10:24-25) We value stewardship. Everything belongs to God and His people have the privilege of being His stewards. Therefore, we desire to be a church that encourages healthy, biblical stewardship of our time, talents and treasures. (Luke 14:33; Matthew 6:24; Colossians 3:5; 2 Corinthians 8-9 (esp. 8:5 and 9:7-8); 1 Chronicles 29:11,12) We value outreach. We aspire to help people understand, accept and take to heart God’s plan of salvation, and to become active members of His family. (Matthew 28:18-20) We value world missions. God has given us the privilege and opportunity to take the Good News to the ends of the earth by going, praying and giving. (Acts 1:8) We value innovation and cultural relevance. While God’s message is timeless, forms and methods must adapt to those we are seeking to serve. We aspire to support innovation and the creative use of God-given gifts. (Luke 5:3639, 1 Corinthians 9:22-23)
Note: An expansion of these Core Values is available on our website that will explain how we are attempting to live them out.
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Common Questions We welcome your
questions, but here are some brief answers to common questions. For more on these subjects, please see our website (community-bible.org).
Q: Why do you have formal membership? One of the original purposes of baptism was to formally welcome someone into the church (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:5). So if you have never been baptized as a believer, we would love to welcome you into our body through baptism. Formal membership is a public way for you to communicate identification with us as a local church if you have already been baptized. And, it gives us the opportunity to formally welcome you into our fellowship. For more on this important subject, please see the link on CBC’s website to Why Join a Church? by Donald S. Whitney. Q: What is your view of the Gospel?
The good news of the gospel is that through Jesus’ death and resurrection eternal life is offered to all mankind as a free gift of God’s grace. We believe salvation is free (Romans 3:24, 5:15, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8; Revelation 22:17), but following Jesus costs us everything (Luke 14:26-27; Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 6:20). The proper response to the gospel is faith (trust) in Jesus Christ, apart from our own works, and then to live a life that expresses gratitude to God for His free gift of eternal life through Jesus. Q: What is your view of eternal security? We believe that, because of the eternal purpose of God toward those He loves, because of His freedom to give grace to sinners on the basis of the completed work of Christ, because of the very nature of the gift of eternal life, because of the present and unending intercession and advocacy of Christ, because God is unchanging in His nature and faithful to His promises, because of the regenerating, abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all who are saved, we believe all true believers once saved shall be kept saved forever. At the same time, we believe that God is a holy and righteous Father and that, since He cannot overlook the sin of His children, He will, when they persistently sin, discipline or correct them in love. (John 5:24; 10:28; 13:1; 14:16–17; 17:11; Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 6:19; Heb. 7:25; 1 John 2:1–2; 5:13; Jude 24). Q: What is your view of assurance? We believe all who are born again by the Spirit through faith in Christ can and should be assured of their salvation from the very day they trust Him to be their Savior. This assurance is not based on our own worthiness, but only on the finished work of Jesus Christ and the promises of the Word of God (Luke 10:20; 22:32; 2 Cor. 5:1, 6–8; 2 Tim. 1:12; Heb. 10:22; 1 John 5:13).
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Q: What is your view of predestination and election? We believe Christians should never divide over this issue. We believe the Bible teaches both that God sovereignly chooses those who will be saved (John 17:2; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:29ff; Ephesians 1:5) and that people are responsible to believe (Mark 16:16; John 3:18, 5:24). The sovereignty of God and the free will of man are presented in harmony in Scripture, not as contradictory (John 6:37). Like the Trinity, we cannot expect to fully understand, but must accept it as true. Q: What is your view of the charismatic movement? Like many movements, the charismatic movement has contributed to modern Christianity in many positive ways and has challenged all of us to take worship and evangelism more seriously. However, we are not charismatic. God can do as He wants whenever He wants and we believe He still does miracles today. But, we believe that some gifts of the Holy Spirit such as speaking in tongues and miraculous healings were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the necessary sign of the baptism nor of the filling of the Spirit, and that the deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits us in heaven (Acts 4:8, 31; Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 13:8). Q: What is your view of the end times? We are pretribulational, premillennial and dispensational. In other words, we believe the next great event in God’s outworking of history is the Rapture or the ―catching up‖ of Christians. This will come before (pretribulational) the sevenyear Great Tribulation that will precede (premillennial) the next great dispensation of history: the Millennium—the 1,000-year literal reign of Christ on earth. We also believe Christians should not divide over this issue. Q: What is your approach to interpreting the Bible? We believe God has spoken and wants us to understand what He has said. While it is true that many things about God cannot be understood, He has spoken to us through human language in the Bible and expects us to read it in its normal, plain sense. Therefore, we practice plain or literal interpretation of the Scriptures, looking for the original author’s intent, taking into consideration the context, history, genre and grammar of a given passage. We believe this leads to a dispensational understanding of revelation and history. Q: What is your view of the role of women in the church? The New Testament makes it plain that Christian women, like men, have been given spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7-11) and, like men, are to use these gifts to minister to the body of Christ (1 Peter 4:10). Women are as important to the life and growth of the church as wives and mothers are to the family (1 Corinthians 12:12-26). At the same time, the New Testament does place restrictions on the ministry of women. We believe passages like 1 Timothy 2:915 make it clear that women are not to serve in roles where they teach men or exercise authority over men. God has designed us and given us different, but complementary roles as men and women. Our greatest satisfaction and meaning
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in life comes from embracing and fulfilling those roles. For more on this issue, please see the Danvers Statement (http://www.cbmw.org/danvers). Q: Do you practice church discipline? Yes. We practice loving, Biblical church discipline in order to help each other stay committed to spiritual growth and to protect the purity of God’s church (Matthew 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 5). Based on the clear Biblical commands such as Galatians 6:1: ―Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness,‖ and Matthew 18:15: ―if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private…‖ we ―gently‖ and ―privately‖ appeal to those we believe are in sin as family members (1 Timothy 5:1-2)—seeking to win them back to a life of Biblical holiness. Formal, public discipline will only be practiced when those who are approached in this way refuse to repent (turn from) their sin. Once the process of formal discipline begins, we will continue even if a person leaves the church and attempts to withdraw membership. Following the process described in Scripture, ―if he (a member in sin) refuses to listen,‖ we will ―tell it to the church‖ (explain the situation to CBC members) and ―no longer associate with‖ them (1 Corinthians 5:11). Q: What is expected of members? If we are taking seriously the concept of the church as a family of families, we will commit to being active and vital members of a local church. We believe the Bible is very clear about what is expected of members of a local church family. All of us have seasons and situations in life that make it difficult to meet all these expectations. But, we believe it is a high calling to be members of the ―household of God‖ (1 Timothy 3:14-16) and therefore, should commit ourselves to ―walk in a manner worthy of our calling‖ (Ephesians 4:1). Here are some key expectations:
Members are expected to be baptized into the community of believers—to clearly identify with a local church. If we have been baptized in the past, we will be publicly acknowledged as a baptized believer who desires to be a member of the CBC family.
Members are expected to regularly pray for each other and fellow believers in Lawrence and around the world. ―Prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, (will) be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority‖ (1 Timothy 2:1-8).
Members are expected to study the Word individually like a ―workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth‖ (2 Timothy 2:15), and be ―doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves‖ (James 1:22).
Members are expected to remember that ―the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith…‖ avoiding ―fruitless discussion‖ (1 Timothy 1:5-6) and remembering that some issues are matters of personal conviction or ―opinion‖ (Romans 14:1).
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Members are expected to be ―firmly rooted and built up in the faith‖ (Colossians 2:6-8) and then ―press on to maturity‖ (Hebrews 6:1) and seek to become like Christ—the very definition of maturity (Luke 6:40; Ephesians 5:1, 2, 22-25; Philippians 2:5-8).
Members are expected to ―manage our own individual households well‖ (1 Timothy 3:5,12). If married, we will commit to be models of Biblical marital love (Ephesians 5:22-33). If parents, we will commit to bringing up our children in ―the discipline and instruction of the Lord‖ (Ephesians 6:4). If single, we will take advantage of our freedom to ―secure undistracted devotion to the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:35).
Members are expected to put into practice the multiple ―one-another‖ commands given in the New Testament. We will love one another (John 13:34). We will be devoted to one another in brotherly love (Romans 12:10). We will pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another (Romans 14:19).
Members are expected to meet together consistently (Hebrews 10:24-25) for Bible study, prayer and encouragement. At CBC, all members are invited (not commanded) to fulfill this expectation through two primary ministries: Sunday morning worship (large group) and Community Groups (small groups). Other options are available as well.
Members are expected to take to heart the command given by the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians: ―Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment‖ (1 Corinthians 1:10).
Members are expected to resolve conflict in a Biblical manner. When we disagree and experience conflict, we will ―lay aside the old self…and put on the new self…speak the truth…and not let the sun go down on (our) anger, and not give the devil an opportunity‖ (Ephesians 4:22-27). In practical terms this means we will not gossip, not cause division and not leave as solutions to conflict. We will seek reconciliation (Matthew 5:23-24), we will show each other our faults ―in private‖ for the purpose of winning over a brother or sister we believe is at fault (Matthew 18:15).
Members are expected to do our part (Ephesians 4:16) being quick to serve and not waiting to be asked.
Members are expected to discover how God has gifted us so that we can use those spiritual gifts ―for the common good‖ of our brothers and sisters in the body (1 Corinthians 12:7, 13).
Members are expected to give—not only financially, but also our time and talent. We should ―give with liberality‖ (Romans 12:8), ―not grudgingly or under compulsion‖ but from ―cheerful hearts‖ (2 Corinthians 9:7). We should ―be rich in good works…generous and ready to share, storing up for yourselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that you may take hold of that which is life indeed‖ (1 Timothy 6:18). [Note: We teach that the practice of tithing (giving 10% of a household’s income) was an Old Testament law and
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not commanded in the New Testament, but that it still serves as an appropriate guide for giving in this age.]
Members are expected to be good stewards (Luke 16:10; 2 Corinthians 8:3-8). We believe this includes taking ownership of CBC property and facilities and doing our part to support and maintain them. We have the freedom to own or not own a building, but ownership of a building comes with the responsibility to mow, clean, maintain, repair, update, heat, cool, light, etc. We must all give of our time, treasures and talents in order to be good stewards of the physical property God has provided.
Members are expected to be trained to share our faith on an individual basis, remembering that most people who trust Christ respond to the invitation of a close friend or relative. We must ―pray‖ for open doors, ―conduct‖ ourselves with wisdom and ―speak‖ the truth to people with grace (Colossians 4:2-6).
Members are expected to do outreach together through Community Groups, special services and events, looking for ways to build bridges to unchurched people in our community. We are to ―become all things to all men‖ (1 Corinthians 9:23)—not in sinful ways, but utilizing our freedom to develop forms which communicate well our timeless message to the people of our times. We will not assume that old traditions are better just because they’re old.
Q: What are your questions?
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Our Membership
Will you join with us in building a healthy church family? If so, we invite you to take three steps.
In joining CBC, you are communicating that you have put your faith in Christ and are trusting in Him alone for salvation.
You are communicating that you are in agreement with the ―Articles of Faith‖ (see p.4) as well as our mission and purpose and Core Values. In short, you are joining our ―family of families‖. Step One: Communicate to the Elder Board that you would like to be a member of CBC. We ask that you communicate your desire to join by answering the questions in the ―Next Steps‖ pages so we can begin to learn more about you and help you get plugged in (use extra sheets if necessary).
We also ask that you provide us with your most up-to-date contact information in the second form provided.
Step Two: Be publicly acknowledged in an upcoming service. Again, Baptism was designed to initiate new believers into the community of a local church. If you have never been baptized, we encourage you to do so in our next baptism service—this will mark your official welcoming into our community.
If you have already been baptized, formally being acknowledged in a Sunday service as a new member is done in the same spirit and accomplishes the same purpose of welcoming you into our community.
Step Three: Make a point of connecting with your new church family. Connecting with a church family takes time and effort. We promise to do everything we can to welcome you with open arms and help you discover the life work and ministry God has for you.
Take a look at the list of ―Ways You Can Serve‖ and begin prayerfully considering how God might have you start helping immediately.
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