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| Apostolic Distinctives |
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APOSTOLIC DISTINCTIVES FOR BETHEL BRUNSWICK
WE HAVE DECIDED THAT ....
- Teaching the Gospel without demonstrating it is not an option. Good preaching, good doctrine, and being good Christians is not good enough.
- Having a good church, or good fellowship is not good enough. And just being a good member of Christ’s Body is not good enough.
- Having good Bible studies is good, but not good enough.
- Knowing the God of the Word is more important than knowing just the Word.
- Hearing the Word wihout doing the Word is unacceptable.
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Just making it to heaven is not our goal. Getting heaven to earth is our mandate.
- Just knowing about God without truly experiencing Him regularly is meaningless.
- Having good programs is not enough.
- Change without transformation is intolerable. Staying the same is not an option.
- Gifting without character is futile.
- Singing songs without worshiping is hollow, and having meetings without God showing up is pointless.
- Having faith without works is useless, and having works without love is not acceptable.
- Reading about the Book of Acts without living the Book of Acts is unthinkable.
- Confident faith is good. BOLD faith is better.
- Hearing about the Holy Spirit without experiencing Him is wrong. Believing in His presence without seeing Him manifest is hypocrisy.
- Believing in healing and deliverance without going for it is absurd.
- Living saved, but not supernaturally is living below our privilege and short of what Christ died for.
- We are a battleship and / or a cargo ship, not a cruise ship. We are an army, not an audience. We are special forces, not spectators. We are missionaries, not club members.
- We will not be satisfied until our world cries out – “Those who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”
- Nothing short of His kingdom come, His will be done in our world, as it IS in heaven will satisfy.
- Value both pioneers and settlers. Pioneers who expand our territory and settlers who build on those territories. We are not squatters – people who take up space on what others fought to obtain without improving it.
- Be infectious instead of innocuous, contagious instead of quarantined, and deadly instead of benign.
- Be radical lovers of God and people, and outrageous givers to God and His purposes.
- Be Holy Spirit filled, Holy Spirit led, and Holy Spirit empowered – anything less doesn’t work for us.
- Be the ones telling the stories of God’s power – not just listening to them.
- Be the ones writing the stories of God’s power by our actions – not just telling them, or listening to them.
- Fail reaching for the impossible instead of succeeding at settling for less.
- See our past and present [both successes and failures] as stepping-stones, not tombstones.
- Pursue learning in order to be transformed, not to be more intellectual.
- Be people of engagement, not observation.
- Focus on what should be, not on what is or has been.
- Not be limited to the four walls of our buildings [houses]. Our influence is not restricted by location. Not even the nations are out of our reach.
- Be more concerned about how many we send out into the world than how many we convince to come into and stay in our buildings.
- Raise up world changers and history makers – not tour guides.
- Train commandos – not committees.
- We will live for a generation we may never see.
- Honor the past, live in the present, and look with joyful expectation to the future [WE DO WIN].
- Hand future generations a move of God that is thriving, not dying.
- Not sacrifice our core values at the altar of expediency, or to please those that refuse to live the true Christian life of purity and power.
- Be God-pleasers and people servers, not people pleasers and God-servers.
- Be obedient to God and sacrifice, not sacrifice without obeying God.
- We will not give God anything that does not cost us something.
- Be reformers and revolutionaries.
- Refuse the que sera, sera [whatever will be, will be] Christian life.
- We will redefine what a “normal” Christian is – one that does the works of Jesus as a normal part of their life.
These decisions are not destinations – they are journeys, journeys along an ancient path. We have not found some new way – We have discovered the path as old as Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The same path Moses, Joshua, Caleb and David followed. The path followed by the first century church – Peter, John, Paul and others less known. Theirs was a church that revolutionized the culture of their day, and beyond.
This path will impact our world. It is a path of bold faith – believing what God says is really true, and acting on it. It is a path of outrageous generosity with our time, talents and finances – giving our life away in order to demonstrate His Kingdom. It is a path of radical love – loving God with everything in us and our neighbor as ourselves. This is a path of liberty, responsibility, accountability, and wholeness. On this path we find significance, purpose, and destiny.
This is a path less traveled. However, it is not a path only available to a select few. This path is available to whosoever will dare to find it, and walk on it regardless of the cost. This path may be straight and narrow, but it is filled with excitement. It is for people of every nation, tribe and tongue – for those in any occupation or vocation. No matter where you are in your life journey – there is room on this path for you.
Where do you stand? Will you join us on this path?
Joining with us does NOT mean you are joining our church. It simply means that you decide to be all that God created you to be, and to do all that God created you to do.
Kevin and Donna Drury
Advancing HIS Kingdom with HIS love & power!
Bethel Church
104 Candler Drive
Brunswick, GA 31523
912-554-8881
Copyright 2005 BETHEL CHURCH | 104 Candler Drive Brunswick GA 31523 | Site by Mychurchwebsite.com