Our Culture
Wherever there is a group of people, there is a definable culture - a shared way of life. Every civilization, every country, every family, and yes, every church has a unique culture. This is a good thing because it keeps life interesting and gives texture to the human experience.
Truth is eternal. Truth is unchanging. This should not be a suprise to us because God is truth and He is eternal and never changes. But something else that should not surprise us is to find such diversity among God's creation. The unchanging God is also infinitely creative and a simple survey of the different kinds of flowers and trees, fish and animals, planets and galaxies should reveal that our God delights in diversity.
For a church, there is an orthodoxy that springs from Scripture that cannot be changed. Core doctrines (teachings) clearly laid out in Scripture cannot be denied nor set aside. But the beauty and creativity of God is wonderfully on display in individual churches by observing the distinct personalities that God builds into each church by shaping the collective values and passions that are shared by that particular gathered body of faith.
So what is the culture of Real Life Church? The best way to find out is to come and experience it for yourself, but some of the qualities that we see the Lord has built into us are:
- An authenticity in our following of God.
People play games in life and try to wear masks that portray things that aren't really true about themselves. Usually it is not hard to see through the thin, false exteriors people try to construct. This is particularly frustrating and discouraging when it happens in the context of religion, faith and the church. Many of the people at C3 have watched the games people play in church (many of us have even tried to play those games ourselves in the past!) and are tired of the fake and hungry for the real. We don't want to settle for the appearance of faith. God is building in us a longing that can only be satisfied in an engaged relationship with Him.
- A relaxed atmosphere
The experince of our gatherings is not stuffy or pretentious - in fact, you could call it casual and, we like to think, comfortable. Not because we are casual about our God but because we want to be comfortable before Him. For us, God has led us to be relaxed in our attitudes, comfortable in our dress, and at ease with each other as we gather together to learn to be true followers of Christ.
- A hunger for discipleship
The call of Jesus is for all of us to follow Him - to learn to think His thoughts, to speak His words, to believe His truth, to walk in His ways. That's what it means to be a disciple. Discipleship doesn't just happen - there must be an intentionality to it, a purposeful approach to taking the steps in being a Christ follower. God has designed this spiritual formation to happen through individual study in the context of Christian relationships. We are very interested in developing the skills needed for a God-honoring life by learning the principles of Scripture together in large gatherings, small groups and one-on-one meetings.