We waited three years to put our church documents in order, and we suffered for it.
We had a statement of faith—we needed one for funding—but we didn’t know how to use it. No one ever encouraged us to adopt (and take seriously) a constitution or church covenant. Even if they did, I wouldn’t have listened.
Church documents seemed outdated and rigid. I wanted to reach the people who the “other churches” weren’t reaching. I wanted the people who didn’t like the church, the people who were looking for something different.
Three years in, we put documents in place—and it was painful.
By that time, we’d attracted a group of people, many of whom disdained the local church. We knew that we were against legalistic and rigid churches, but we did not know what kind of church we wanted to become. Everything seemed up for discussion and debate, including the inerrancy of Scripture and substitutionary atonement. With no concept or ability to exercise church discipline, sin went unchecked. Challenges didn’t work because everyone appealed to personal taste and would offer to “agree to disagree.”
After three years of this,
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