#1 A High View of God
God is sovereign, holy, righteous, and just.
A commitment to a high view of God, leads us to view His Word as the perfect guide for our lives…
#2 A High View of Scripture
The Word of God is:
eternal,
inspired,
inerrant and infallible (i.e. trustworthy),
authoritative (i.e. What it says—I must do!),
sufficient (i.e. The Scriptures provide all that is needed to live a God-honoring life) and
relevant
A commitment to a high view of Scripture, is the basis of a biblical view of man…
#3 A Biblical View of Man
Mankind is totally depraved. Man was created to glorify God, but because of sin, he seeks to glorify himself.
A biblical view of man enables us to understand the design of God in the building of His Church…
#4 A Biblical View of the Church
The universal Church and its localized expressions belong to Jesus Christ.
The church exists to:
Be a repository (and disseminator) of divine truth
Provide a loving, interdependent community of believers for the purpose of mutual edification (i.e. a place to work out the salvation that God is working in you)
Be a training center whereby people can grow through the application of teaching and the utilization of their spiritual gifts
Be a light in this dark world, for the evangelization of God’s elect
A biblical view of the church enables us to correctly understand biblical leadership…
#5 A Biblical View of Local Church Leadership
Jesus Christ “gifts” the church with leaders to equip participants for the work of the ministry that God has prepared in advance of them to do.
Leaders must be “tested” before being entrusted with leadership responsibilities. The greater the responsibility; the greater the accountability.
Leaders must reflect the character of Christ to be models for the flock
Leaders must be respected, supported, and affirmed in their work (Hebrews 13:17)