Biblically honest leadership
Originally prepared for members of Berean Church, as a sort of ‘what to expect’ document, to be sent out to guest speakers and teachers visiting the church.
Our community aspires to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:10-11, who, “received Paul's message eagerly and met daily, examining the Word to see if it supported what he said.”
Above all, we want you to feel right at home among us; you’re our honored guest. In view of the verse shared above, we have a few gentle suggestions to help you understand the kind of pastoral leadership, preaching, and teaching that our community has come to expect. This document also serves to let you know what to expect when you arrive at our home.
A private study with restroom and common amenities will be available to you on the day that you preach or teach. Let us know if you have any special requests for drinks or snacks, or any particular dietary restrictions or food allergies. We keep a variety of other comforts for your use, like natural Throat Coat herbal tea and fresh towels. Upon request we can provide a runner, a driver, and/or a hotel room as needed during your stay with us.
We affirm that every part of the Bible is God-breathed and is beneficial in one way or another. Some passages provide knowledge, while others expose our failings or correct our mistakes as his words train us to walk the Way of Jesus (2 Tim 3:16). If you’ve been invited to preach or teach, then you’ve been invited to preach or teach us the Bible. We want to know his Word—show us!
We trust that you have the authority to interpret the Bible, as you are called by God. And if you’ve been invited into our body, then you have full permission to interpret the Bible for us. We believe that authority abused tends toward authoritarianism, while permission abused tends toward permissiveness. We seek a balance between the normative and the situational, between the Law and liberty in Jesus. We are a people of balance and nuance.
We don’t use any one particular Bible translation, but rather, we use our own paraphrases from the original texts. We trust no single translation—no one board of translators or publisher—as authoritative with regard to the context and meaning of a passage of Scripture. Again, you are the authority and have full permission to interpret the Bible for us. We believe you will be held accountable to God for your use of his Word. If you’d like, you can send your paraphrases to our pastors ahead of time for proof, and please also send them to us to be projected on-screen as you preach or teach.
We believe that statements about God given without historical backdrop are more like fantasy than fact (when you say “God,” we need to know which god you’re talking about). Such speculation verges on the “vain philosophies” Paul warned against in Colossians 2:8, so as you interpret the Bible, consider letting the narrative passages, the historical background, the primary audience, and the original cultural context guide you toward each biblical author’s closest meaning. Above all, ask the Spirit to illumine his Word before you interpret it for us.
Preach or teach for as long as you’d like. Our people know to quietly dismiss themselves if they have another obligation. Generally speaking, our pastor preaches for about a half hour, or teaches for about an hour, but our people are hungry for God’s Word. We open our proceedings with a call to hear God’s Word and we close with a call to heed it, to live it out as it applies to our own lives. Send us an outline of your message ahead of time if you’d like for our pastor to harmonize the call and the response with your thoughts.
We are a closed community of believers committed to hearing and heeding God’s Word, living it out as it applies to each individual, in each stage of life. We have no social media, and none of our proceedings are publicized. The curious are welcome to wander in and, if we’re reallyheeding God’s Word, they’ll be welcomed with open arms. But we make time throughout the week for intentional gospel conversations, for service projects in our wider community, and for local missionary endeavors. The time you spend with us will be for our education and edification, not the kind of programmed evangelism of a wide, general audience that takes place in the average church. While it certainly has its place, our people don’t meet each Sunday to experience a slick production.
For your use throughout the week, if applicable, we have a private internet cafe with fresh coffee, a modest fitness center, basketball and tennis courts on our grounds, as well as hiking trails available to our members. We believe that our bodies are an actual temple for God’s presence, so we want to help our members take care of themselves. These facilities are closed on Sunday in view of rest. On Sunday, only essential staff and a skeleton crew of volunteers work. We strongly believe in preserving a day of actual rest.
Lastly, we have no dress code beyond a simple request for modesty—whatever you deem appropriate as the Spirit leads. Some of our folks view the day as a Sabbath, wearing clothing that reflects a posture and attitude of rest (we see some sweatpants and over-sized shirts each Sunday). Others view the day as the Lord’s Day, choosing to wear his or her ‘Sunday best.’ On matters of dress, we defer to the Spirit and seek peace rather than disunity.