One - Our belief in the Lordship of Jesus Christ
and our soul
stipulation that a member of its movement confess this and
accept Jesus Christ as Savior. Beyond this sole test of
fellowship, we do not put belief requirements on people.
Beyond this one essential conviction, beliefs will differ,
and we will accept one another without insisting that all
agree. This kind of inclusiveness defines us.
Two - Our celebration of an open Lord's Table.
We celebrate this feast weekly, and no
human can bar any other human from participation. It is
Christ's table, He is the host, we are all simply His
guests. The hospitality that characterizes the Lord's Table
is, we pray, true of every part of life.
Three
- The priesthood of all believers.
We don't limit ministry to the ordained. All of
us are called to ministry at our baptisms. All are called to
represent Jesus Christ to the world. All of us have a
vocation of servant-leadership. No one is absolved of this
call.
Four - The Love of unity. We have long carried this in our pursuit of Christian unity. Our founders made this a clear vocational call of this movement. Yet we are called to be uniters, not dividers, of all God's created order. So let us build a united church, yes, but let us also work for a united human community as well.
Five - The justice of God.
Abraham Lincoln said, "I tremble when I realize that we
serve a just god." God's justice roots in the truth that God
is creator of everything, non-human as well as human. It
becomes our responsibility , therefore, if we are going to
be faithful to God, to treat every person and every thing as
being precious to God. Wouldn't this make a difference in
the way we live our lives? Wouldn't it revolutionize our
stewardship of money, time, talent, relationships, war and
peace and everything else in life? Ultimate justice belongs
only to God.
