As the divinely inspired Word of God, we believe that the Scriptures are without any error and are in absolute authority over every human being whether they realize it or not. We therefore submit to it as the final authority in all matters. We also believe that the Lord has prepared works for us to walk in as Christians in order to bring glory to the Father, meaning everything we say, do and think is a part of the works he has created for us to walk in. As such, we also believe that the Scriptures alone are sufficient to instruct us in every good work that he has called us to.
We are in need of no other revelation, especially your enneagram number.
Sufficiency of Scripture - We believe that the scriptures are sufficient for everything we need to know for life of godliness. Beyond the
explicit and implicit commands of the scriptures, the scriptures themselves instruct each believer to lean into wisdom, given from the
scriptures and aided by the Spirit as they walk under the guidance and in submission to the elders that God has given them to walk this
life of godliness.
Authority of Scripture - We believe that God is in authority over all creation and as such he has given his expressed and clear commands to
rule over all of creation through his Words. Where man’s word are in opposition to God’s words we reject them and call them to repentance.
Current Culture and the Sufficiency of the Word - Many “Christians” today are the product of the legalist/fundamentalist movement and/or
the church growth movement and/or what we call the soft Jesus movement. In the legalist/fundamentalist movement, with the aim to earn
their righteousness they create laws in addition to the scriptures - denying the sufficiency of the scriptures. In the church growth movement,
with the aim to get baptism numbers or get people in the pews, they relegate the scriptures to a tool on the side, but it’s really about lights, cameras and action. The soft Jesus movement is churches of all theological stripes who love promoting the softer side of Jesus.
Neglecting much of the Scriptures for the ones more smooth to the ears of the listeners and more palatable for those more dainty.
These three groups make up the majority of Christianity in America and make for a very potent group of people who care very little about submitting to the actual Words of God. These kinds of people will not find a good home at CTL. However, good news for them…
most churches around here fit one of those three categories.
Expository preaching - passage by passage - our general diet of teaching will be passage by passage exposition through the scriptures. By exposition, we mean that the content and intent of the passage will determine the content and intent of the sermon.
Sin in the room - For the sins that the elders are aware of, they will seek to preach the word in such a way that speaks to these sins. They will
not call out names or unnecessarily draw attention to particular people, but you should expect to hear from any teaching platform the word taught in a way that feels personal and even oftentimes offensive to your flesh. We will move beyond generalities and into the nitty gritty
of the flocks life. You should consider this a blessing and a gift of God’s grace. We live in a culture that cannot stand preaching that does
anything but tickle the ears. (Acts 5:1-11; 1 Cor 5:1-13; Neh 8:1-8)
Equipping the saints to do the work of ministry - The elders are responsible for equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry
(Eph 4:11-16). For example: The elders will not attend every hospital visit, do all the counseling, have a direct part in all discipleship, etc,
but instead you should expect them to teach you the word and pray for you (Acts 6:4) so that you are equipped to do your part in the work
of the ministry. The church is healthier when all members are doing the work of ministry to each other. The work of ministry means helping
each other know, love and obey Jesus as Lord over all.
Crucify your preferences - Its amazingly easy to develop your preferred way doing and baptize it as law. Anything from your preferred tone
when being talked to, how often you are talked to, how soon a person checks on you when sick, how many people check on you or
whether or not they give you flowers when grandma dies. It could be your preference on the tone in preaching or how someone is dressed.
It is fine to have these preferences but it is sin to require them of others and consider a relationship broken when others don’t meet them.
You cannot bind other people’s conscience to your preferences. To do so is to say that the Scriptures are not sufficient and that we need to
add my laws to the canon of scriptures.
Counseling philosophy - We have been saved to do good works that the Lord has prepared for us before hand (Eph 2:10). This isn’t simply the “good moral acts” that we do every now and then, but instead every thing we think, say and do each and every day. We don’t “move on from the gospel,” but we live a life of repentance and faith in the gospel. And in order to do these good works, the Lord has provided us the scriptures that are fully sufficient to instruct us in every good work that he has prepared for us. We recognize, confess, and repent from unbelief and turn in faith to what is good, true, and beautiful. We will counsel every situation from the word of God believing it to be sufficient for a life of holiness which
is living out the good works he has prepared for us to live (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3).
Church governing documents - we have by-laws and constitutional documents, however, they are fallible and contain errors unlike the holy scriptures. As we encounter those errors, the scriptures govern and correct the writings of man and we shall submit ultimately to His words.