Though many churches elevate Scripture as God's
Word and many profess to follow Scripture Alone, the reality is far different.
We are surrounded by Churches that have elevated tradition and cultural norms
placing them on par with God's Word or in some cases above it. Others have
simply given in to the world and embraced its methods to build and sustain
God's Church. While we don't doubt their motives, the result has proven
disastrous and instead of strengthening the Church, they've created a
counterfeit.
There are alternatives. Historically there have been Protestants that have maintained God's Word as the sole and sufficient authority for the Church. There have been groups of Christians that have rejected the temptations of power, the traps of legalism and the wisdom of the world. Like them we reject the false authority claims of Rome and yet wish to participate in the rich heritage of Christian truth that comes down to us through the ages. We're not trying to reinvent the wheel, or ignore the history of the Church, even if that history is muddled and often corrupted by false teaching.
On a practical level we've reached a point where
a person seeking a reverent, Bible based meeting will be hard pressed to find
one. There are very few and those that exist have often been polluted with
doctrines that despite their claims do not represent 'Old Time' Christianity.
Their congregations are the harvest of doctrines and worldviews scarcely a century
old. Many of the teachings which have become part of the Evangelical Mainstream
would have been all but unknown to most people in the 19th century,
let alone beyond.
We are surrounded by congregations that have put
entertainment above the Gospel, American Patriotism and its Middle Class Dream
above Christ's Kingdom and not a few have prioritized Rationalism over and
against the claims and doctrines of Christ.
We seek a Bible-based Congregation, committed to
worshipping God in Spirit and Truth and forming our lives according to the
teachings found in Scripture. We wish to follow the Lamb no matter the cost and
no matter whom we offend. We're not interested in winning the masses, drawing
in crowds, political influence or finding a way to live at peace with the world
at large. Conscientiously a minority we seek to honour God and make the Bible
the focus of our thoughts and conduct.