“Love is the motion of the soul toward the enjoyment of God for His own sake, and the enjoyment of one’s self and one’s neighbor for the sake of God.”

Going, sending, bringing--verbs that describe movement. Since its inception Christianity has understood itself in these terms. We believe that in Jesus God came near us, as close as a brother or a friend. For the Apostle John this was the most astounding truth of the gospel, that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Because we belong to a sending, incarnate God, we believe that we must too go, embracing both the joys and laments of our neighbors, being for them the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.

As the Apostles beheld Jesus they fell in love with His glory, His very presence and nature. In Him they found the Light of Life and the hope of the world. Someone who, understanding their needs, would seamlessly transform water into wine, heal lepers, and multiply loaves and fish. It was an all-encompassing vision of beauty, one that directed their imagination and affection. But Jesus' glory was never an end in itself, it was meant to be transformative. Saint Irenaeus wrote: "The glory of God is a man fully alive." We give ourselves to a God-centered vision so we might be what He created us for: worship, friendship, and love.

Francis Schaeffer called humanity a "glorious ruin." Part majestic creature part broken soul, mankind is more glorious and more broken than we often realize. We are glorious because we were created in the image of God, intended for deep, lasting relationship with Him. Yet our being was irrevocably damaged when our first parents broke fellowship with their Creator, exiling us from His presence. Everything in this world bears the scars of our sin. Consequently, we believe that Jesus's work of reconciliation brings healing and hope to all things. We are holistic in so far as we recognize that everyone and everything must find their fulfillment in Jesus. Our bodies and affections, our fears and all our longings lead us to seek refuge in the belief that God's honor consists in the fact that He redeems and renews the same humanity, the same world, the same heaven, and the same earth that have sought life apart from Him.

There is a story in the gospels in which a lawyer asks Jesus define the term neighbor. Jesus' response is interesting. Rather, than answering in prescriptive lawyer-talk, Jesus responds descriptively, telling a provocative story about compassion and hospitality. The world's needs are acute and we often find ourselves asking, "Who is my neighbor?" We have committed ourselves to this question, partnering with missionaries and teams of people around the world to bring the love and compassion of Christ to those who are in need--physically and spiritually.

Novelist Eudora Welty observed, “Place conspires with the artist. We are surrounded by our own story, we live and move in it. It is through place that we put out roots.” What is true for artists is also true for those who call a certain place "home." Like artists we have been charged with a creative task: to make heaven's invisible qualities visible on earth. This happens as we connect the story of Christianity with the hopes and desires of our most immediate neighbors--with our children and barista, with those on the bus or on the bike path. We have committed ourselves to our local setting, to Green Lake and the other surrounding neighborhoods, for this express purpose. It is our desire to see our neighborhood mirror more and more the Kingdom of Heaven.