HONESTY : We will be real about our lives, which are
filled with struggles, sorrow, and joy. We strive for honesty with God and one another—because
we know we're not perfect and we refuse to pretend we are.
MYSTERY : We believe faith is knowable, but never fully
comprehendible. Faith is not as black and white as we would prefer or many Christians might
assert. But there is a significant degree of gray and paradox in which we must learn to be comfortable.
HOLISTIC TRANSFORMATION : Life cannot be separated
into its spiritual and material components. Rather, our lives are integrated wholes
where each aspect of life affects the other. God desires to transform every corner
of our individual and corporate being, whether that be our intellects, our emotions,
our physical health, or our relationships.
RECONCILIATION : In pursuit of the Bible's call for
interpersonal reconciliation and unity, we're taking the first steps down a long
and difficult path toward the establishment of mutually understood, compassionate,
and inclusive relationships between people of different ethnicities, sexual orientations,
and socio-economic positions. We insist on keeping these issues in our hearts, on
our minds, and from our lips as we seek to become a people for whom love and grace
are our hallmark.
ADVOCACY : We will act for those who cannot because
we ought to and we can. Throughout his ministry, Jesus Christ sought justice and
mercy for the outcast and oppressed (socially, economically, ethnically, etc.) and
we are called to no less.