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Doctrinal Location:
· I believe core biblical doctrines are well summarized in the ecumenical creeds of the early church
· I believe biblical truths are best expressed by the Wesleyan-Armenian theological tradition.
· However, I believe the whole of biblical understanding requires an appreciation and respect for all the historic strands of Protestantism along with the more ancient Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the earliest church.
· I am an Evangelical of the Christianity Today (Magazine) ilk.


Doctrinal Positions of Note:
· I believe the infallible authority of the Bible (and the inerrancy of its original autographs) is not undermined, but better understood, by accepting the reality that God inspired Sacred Writ in terms that reflect pre-Copernican cosmology.

· I accept that Scripture, fully and properly understood, affirms that God calls men and women equally to all levels of spiritual leadership.

· I accept Scriptural condemnation of all sexual intercourse outside heterosexual marriage as a true standard for all time as is Jesus’ gracious, scandalous, and non-judgmental embrace of sexual sinners.

· I believe Christians who hold to the absolute authority of Scripture can become convinced of typically liberal and conservative political positions, and that to assume otherwise endangers the witness of the church.

· I tend toward an a-millennial understanding of end times and refuse to participate in end-times speculation.

Church Life:
· I believe church programs should only continue if they serve the mission of the church.

· I believe the church should be relevant, in its look and feel, to the culture(s) it seeks to reach, but not faddishly or uncritically bound to cultural trends.

· I believe in creative ministry methodology that allows for minimal investment in property and maximal investment in ministry.

· I believe compassion ministry, offered in the name of Christ and without any qualifications, must characterize a church in any community.

· I believe unexamined loyalty to traditional definitions of spirituality and propriety tend to be more a hindrance than a help to the disciple-making mission of the Church.

· I believe Christ is more honored by heterogeneity than homogeneity in the church (culture, color, gender, economic status, educational accomplishment, etc); as much as geographic location allows.

· I refer to people using inclusive language in all my speaking and writing.