BELIEFS
It's not easy to prioritize God's goodness. He is infinite, after all. But knowing what we hope in is a better goal than focusing on what we are against. Defining what makes a person Christian helps us follow Christ in his ministry of reconciliation. Even these essentials have some space for wiggle room. They are not perfect. Still, they are a good-faith attempt to describe what "merely Christian" looks like. Of course we are free to go beyond these elements! But we don't believe one has to in order to be a brother or sister in Christ.
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We believe that...
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1. God is our Creator, eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God has revealed Himself to mankind in His Creation; in His inspired word the Bible; and in the Person of Jesus Christ.
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2. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and are God's supreme and final authority in faith and life. From the Scriptures we have our basis for all beliefs and actions.
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3. Man was created in the image of God, but has sinned and fallen from his relationship with God. All human beings are born with a sinful nature and freedom of choice, and those that reach the age of accountability become sinners in thought and in deed.
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4. Jesus Christ is God's Son, begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and is true God and true Man. He lived a perfect life as an example for us. He was crucified for our sins as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, but arose back to life on the third day so that we might believe, and in believing have life. He has ascended into heaven, serving now as our High Priest and Advocate, and will personally return to establish His eternal Kingdom.
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5. Salvation is God's gift to Man through Jesus, a gift we accept by faith. Faith is belief that produces obedience. Scripture teaches us to show our faith by repenting of our sins, confessing Him before others, being baptized (immersed in water), and by making Jesus Lord of our lives.
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6. All who accept God's gift of salvation are born of the Holy Spirit, and thereby become children of God. The Spirit of God is our Counselor in our new life, teaching us, convicting us of sin, filling us and bringing the power in our lives to live out the Christian life.
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7. There will be a bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust and a time of judgment by God. Those that are saved have the promise of eternal blessedness and joy; those that are lost are promised eternal suffering and punishment.
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8. The Church is the body of believers in Jesus, responsible to carry on the ministry of bringing others to Him, to teach His word, and to love and serve one another. The Church's local organization, teachings, and ordinances are to be based on the teaching and example of Jesus and the Apostles.
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CCC has additional, lesser-authoritative documents that provide a measure of direction for our church, including statements on the Gifts of the Spirit and Sexuality. These can be made available upon request. If you visit our YouTube channel, you will notice that we have also men and women on our speaking team. For those who may be curious, we find the considerations regarding: 1) the elect lady of 2 John (as outlined in James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude : Volume 11, edited by Gerald L. Bray, and Thomas C. Oden, InterVarsity Press, 2000), 2) Priscilla (as expressed in Acts 18:2–3, Acts 18:18, Acts 18:26, Romans 16:3:, 1 Corinthians 16:19: 2 Timothy 4:19), and 3) Junia (Romans 16:7) to suggest that a majority of scriptures indicate women did teach in the first century. Additionally, Chrysostom, Ambrose, Augustine, and Epiphanius all mention women teaching in the early church. Regarding 1 Corinthians 14:34 and 1 Timothy 2:12, we do not believe scripture to contain contradiction. It is reasonable to assume these instances of prohibition were not intended as universal, but specific for a local and timely purpose. When definitive answers seem impossible to prove, some choose a “better safe than sorry” view, which always errs in the direction of restriction. CCC has chosen to operate by both the majority of scriptural content and grace.