Monday, January 9, 2012

EMC Statement of Core Values (draft)

The Core Values listed below are the principles that identify who we are as a Conference of churches. These values speak to our enduring convictions about what is most important to us. All of our ministries are guided by these basic values:

1. We Value Relationships and Christian Community

As a family of churches we affirm that, in Christ, we are part of a shared faith story, historically and theologically, and this fellowship builds us up.  In offering mutual support, we learn from one another and are enriched together. We value the cooperation this relationship affords, realizing we can do more together than we can individually.

Ephesians 4:3-6; Galatians 3:26-29; 6:1-2; Romans 12:4-5; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 Thessalonians 5:11

2. We Value the Truth

Jesus is the Truth, and He is faithfully revealed in Scripture. We hold biblical doctrine to be of primary importance, and seek to interpret the Scriptures together. We value the theological approach of the early Anabaptists who read Scripture through the lens of Christ.

2 Timothy 3:16-17; Joshua 1:8; Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39

3. We Value All People

Human beings are created in God's image, and His desire is for all people to be reconciled to Himself through Christ. That is our desire, too. With compassion we seek to carry the good news of salvation to people near and far, serving them in a spirit of humility.

John 3:16; Luke 2:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Matthew 18:14

4. We Value Obedience

We believe that to love Jesus is to walk in reverent obedience to Him. He call us to a life of love. Within this calling we are to obey the commission of Christ to make disciples of all nations.

John 14:15, 21, 23; Romans 13:8-10; 1 John 5:1-3; Matthew 28:18-20; Proverbs 1:7; Joshua 24:14

5. We Value Discipleship

We value mature followers of Christ, as expressed in a life of worship, prayer, and deepening faith. We want our faith to be seen in a life of integrity and authenticity. We want to discern God's leading for our lives, individually and corporately.

Mark 8:34-35; Romans 12:1-2; James 2:17; Matthew 28:18-20

6. We Value Families and Youth

We consider it vital that faith in Christ is passed from one generation to the next. We want to see families and youth supported and equipped among our churches. We consider this of great importance in the present and for the future.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Ephesians 6:1-4


Add your comments below to join the discussion on this draft statement.

7 comments:

  1. When the Strategic Planning Task Force met to sift through all of the information we had received from all of the meetings across the country, it was amazing to see how these values immediately popped to the forefront. These seem to be the values that the EMC churches identify with. Would you concur?

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  2. Our values will reflect what we have taught during the past half century. When leaders have often separated evangelism and justice, we should not be surprised when our churches reflect this. Whether we call it "holistic" or "mission" (rather than "missions") an integrated gospel comes closer to Jesus' expectation that we are to be "teaching them to obey whatever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20). How well do our values display this sort of integration?

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  3. Travis and Stephanie UngerFebruary 24, 2012 at 11:38 a.m.

    We appreciate the work and good listening that has gone into compiling this list of EMC Core Values.
    When we looked in this “mirror” as Ward Parkinson described it in the Messenger, we were quite pleased to find that it looked familiar…we saw ourselves and our experience of the EMC in this list of 6. In 5 out of 6 of the values, this reflection was beautiful. We did notice one blemish or smudge, and although it may be a true reflection of what EMC looks like, we do not believe it is something to be promoted or held in high esteem.
    This value was number 6. We Value Families and Youth. We have a number of questions about this value. Mostly because we don’t understand why it’s there.
     
    Of course we value families and youth…that is made clear in value number 3 (We Value All People). But do we really aspire to value them more than single people or the elderly or…? Scripture clearly instructs us not to practice favouritism. We have seen the painful results of this value. Single people are at times overlooked, undervalued and used in the Church, both in and outside the EMC. And what about the elderly? As our society marginalizes the elderly more and more, our example as the Church needs to be one of sacrificial love, humble listening and service.
     
    Another question: Is this a value or is it actually a fear? Are we frightened by the number of families falling apart both in society and in the Church and by the increase of young people choosing to leave the Church? Is it in reaction to this that we want to value families and youth? Or perhaps, when we look in the mirror, we do see strong families and youth in comparison to the world, or even other conferences. Is the temptation then for us to say “We’re the conference defined by faithful marriages and strong families as opposed to the _______ conference.” Although it’s great that we have low divorce rates and strong families in our conference, I think it’s a product of our values not a value in itself. 
     
    Yet another question: Is this a round about way of standing against the changes our society is making to its definition of marriage? If so, let’s be clear and just say we value monogamous, heterosexual marriages. However, this is not so much a value as a statement of belief. Let us not choose our values and focus by what we fear, but rather strive to continue to support one another to live our lives as followers of Jesus in all ages and stages.
     
    One last question: Is this value included because we desire to pass on our faith from one generation to the next? Is it meaning to say that we want people to be equipped and supported to follow Jesus in every stage of life? Or, as the value currently states, is it only families and youth that we want supported and equipped?  We believe that it is important for everyone in a church to be supported and equipped if we want to be able to pass faith on from one generation to the next. It is not only families and youth that must make difficult daily decisions about how their faith should be lived out in this crazy world.
     
    It is telling that only 2 scripture references are included to support this value and that the scriptures chosen do not clearly connect to the statement. We think this value should at least be clarified and reworded so that everyone in our conference can look in this “mirror” and find themselves there. At best, it could be omitted, as we believe the other 5 values already ensure we will continue to equip people (families and youth included) to pass on our faith to the next generation.

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    1. Thanks for this, Travis and Stephanie; you've summed up my thoughts on this very well!

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  4. Yes, Travis, Stephanie and Rebecca, you have identified a weakness in the statement.

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  5. Thanks for these comments, Travis and Stephanie. I don't want to defend a value if it is not relevant, but perhaps an explanation is in order. Your second last paragraph essentially sums up the reason for this value being included: to pass on the faith from one generation to the next. Perhaps the value could be re-framed to express this more clearly. You are correct in stating that everyone should be given opportunity to be supported and equipped. However, there is good reason to specifically identify families and youth for this purpose.

    Many respondents identified that families are at risk in Canadian society, and there is a strong desire to support families particularly in the area of developing faith among the younger generation. This is indeed a high value among our Churches. It is also a value to support young people when they are at the time of transition into adulthood. Many respondents point to the impact of the bi-annual Abundant Springs as a turning point for young people in our Churches. They value the positive development of these young people at this critical stage of life. They also value the Bible College experience and the development of young leaders through post secondary education. These are all elements of what is being expressed in this value.

    Could you think of a better way to express this value that would not highlight a specific demographic?

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    1. I realize that I am coming in late on this discussion but in response to Tim's last question I would suggest that language of "lifespan formation" would be more inclusive. At no point in our faith journey have we "arrived" - adults in their 20s, 40s, 60s, 80s, etc. should, in my opinion, continue to develop in their faith just as we expect children and youth to do so. I would agree that this discussion could be summed up in Value #2 as I hope the EMC seeks to support its members in every age and stage of faith whether that is happening in the context of the traditional nuclear family or not.

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