What I Believe
Where I stand
People want to know what a teacher believes before they decide whether to trust what he teaches. I couldn't agree more. Here is the short answer, and I have kept it short on purpose.
I hold the creeds
The oldest summaries the church has are still the best ones. If you can say these and mean them, you and I are family, and I will treat you that way no matter where we land on everything else.
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
I hold the Nicene Creed as well. It says the same things at more length and spells out what the fourth century had to fight for: Jesus is fully God and fully human, and the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one God.
What I keep coming back to
The Bible tells one story
It runs from a garden in Genesis 1 and 2 to a city in Revelation 21 and 22, and everything in between belongs to that story. Most of the confusion I run into comes from reading one paragraph as if the rest were not there.
The hope at the end of it is resurrection
God raised Jesus bodily, and God will raise us the same way, into a world made new. The goal was never to leave this place for somewhere else.
So what you do now counts
A world being renewed is not a world being thrown away. Your work, your rest, and the people in your house are part of what God is doing, not a waiting room until the real thing starts.
God is after you, not your performance
The love of God is the beginning of this, not the reward at the end of it.
How I read the Bible
I read the text in its own context, written and historical, before I read anybody's system into it.
Where a system and the text disagree, the text wins. That includes the systems I like.
Test me. Acts 17 says the Bereans checked Paul against the Scriptures, and they got called noble for it. Do that here.
What this page is not
This is not a list you have to sign to belong here. I teach some conclusions that not every tradition shares, and when I do, I show my work from the text instead of asking you to take my word for it. Disagree with me on the fine print and you are still welcome, and still a brother or sister.
The best way to know what I believe is to watch me teach it
Years of it are free on the channel, and the free resources are the fastest way in.