how:
What will the movement look like?
Jesus
First and foremost, we are the people of God, the Bride of Jesus Christ, living and proclaiming His message. Every good thought, emotion, and action of the church finds its origin in the revelation of God’s beauty found in the person and redeeming work of His Son. See “The Church” and “The Witness Of The Church” below.
Gospel & Culture
Christians are not to be isolated from their neighbors. Rather, they are be resident aliens, living in the world, but not belonging to it. This means everyday engagement with the ever-changing art, history, plausibility structures, and people which make up a culture. Rather than fearing or abandoning the complexity of the city, believers engage it as missionaries. They listen to the culture closely for parts of the gospel that it already understands, and they challenge the culture boldly where it is tyrannized by false hope. See “The Witness Of The Church” below.
Friendship & Blessing
The simplicity and honesty of friendship and blessing in evangelism are much to be preferred in the city. Many layers in the social strata of Chicago are simply hostile to Christianity and its claims. As such, wherever possible, the good news of Jesus should be shared over time in the context of honest friendship with non-believers. The true follower of Jesus makes friends not to take, not to trick, but to bless. Blessing and friendship must represent at least a portion of the ministry of every missionary in the city, and will be prioritized over every other outward evangelistic expression of The Line.
City
God is at work in all places and in all times to bring Himself glory. We value the work of the gospel in every context, be it western, eastern, suburban, urban, or rural. That said, being a missionary to a modern city will require understanding it. Understanding that city will most likely require living in it. We ask those who join us to strongly consider loving Chicago by living in it. Although we are aware of the vast difficulty that relocation to the city presents, we believe that as we join together as family to love and live in the city, by God’s grace His fame will spread in new and unexpected ways.
Sending
Jesus Christ left his place of glory and security to come to earth and sacrifice himself on our behalf. He proclaimed the good news of God and by His death and resurrection called every thought, heart, and action into account. Throughout Biblical history, He also called men and women from Abram to Saul to reflect His glory by being sent in the same way. At the end of His life, Jesus called all people in all times to do the same, appointing them as His witnesses. As a missionary movement, our witness to the glory of God in Christ does not stay confined to the private sphere. Rather, we send and are are sent into workplaces, neighborhoods, and all areas of both public and private life to proclaim God’s message to the world.
who & what:
Doctrine, authority, etc.
The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
We believe the world and everything in it was created through Christ (John 1:3, Col 1:16). We believe that Christ is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind (John 1:14, Col 1:15, 19). We believe that Christ came to earth and was fully man (Matt 4:1-11, Luke 2:52, 23:46, 24:42, Mk 13:32, John 4:6, Heb 2:18), and fully God (John 1:1, 1:18, 20:28, Rom 9:5, John 8:58, Rev 22:19). We believe that Christ was crucified for as a substitutionary atonement for the sins of mankind (Rom 3:25-26, Heb 2:16-17, Col 1:20). We believe that faith in Christ’s person and work is the only way that mankind can be redeemed from it’s sinful state and restored to relationship with God (See “Salvation”).
The Scriptures
We believe that God is the author of Scripture, though they were written by men, and that as such all scripture can and should be used to make disciples of Christ through teaching, correcting and admonishing — correctly identifying and communicating truth and it’s consequences (2 Tim 3:16, 2 Pet 1:21). From this foundation, we conclude that the scriptures are authoritative over any other revelation from God given to men, because the scriptures give only themselves the absolute authority of being the Word of God, which Jesus tells us is equal to the ultimate truth (John 17:17). Because of these things, the Scriptures do not affirm anything that is contrary to fact. We believe that men can know about God without the Scriptures (Psa 19:1, Rom 1:19-21), but that men must hear the scriptures in order to believe on Christ as their savior (Rom 10:13).
The Godhead
We believe God exists as three persons and as one being (Gen 3:22, 11:7, 16:13, Ex 3:2-6, Isa 6:8, Matt 28:19, 1 Cor 12:4-6, Eph 4:4-6, Jude 20-21). These persons are revealed in Scripture to be God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. We believe that each is fully God, and that there is only one God (Deut 6:4-5, Isa 45:5-6). We believe that these three persons exist in Eternal community, needing nothing (Matt 5:48, John 1:1-2, 3:17, Rom 8:29).
The Church
We believe God has redeemed men and women from all ages and all nations through Christ (see “Salvation”) to join the eternal community of love found in the Godhead as Christ’s bride and body, and that these individuals form the group called “The Church” in scripture (Matt 9:15, John 1:12, 2:1-11, 3:29, Rom 8:15, 12:5, Eph 1:23, 4:12, Col 1:24, 2:19).
The Witness Of The Church
We believe that all who are in Christ are called to be witnesses to His glory (Matt 10:18; Acts 1:8; 22:15). This is accomplished as worship to Him (Rom 12:1-2); by verbal testimony to the truth of the gospel (Matt 28:19; Acts 4:20, 29-31; Eph 4:11), through love of other believers in the community of a church (John 13:34-35; Rom 12:8-9, 13), and through love of the world demonstrated in acts of service and kindness (Matt 5:44-46; Matt 22:37-39; Rom 12:20; Jas 1:27). The witness of these believers, called the church, is born of the truth of the Gospel (John 1:1-15; 3:6; 4:22-23; Rom 12:1-21); occurs in times, places, and cultures (Acts 17: 16-31; Col 1:27), and therefore is a living, dynamic, continuous representation of God’s glory to the people of the world.
The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is also fully God (Gen 1:2, Rom 8:2, Isa 61:1, 11:2). We believe the Holy Spirit guides those who believe in Christ to the truth of Christ, and empowers them to live according to God’s will (John 14:17, 15:24, 16:15, Acts 10:19, 16:6, Gal 5:22) upon conversion (John 3:5-8). We believe the Holy Spirit convicts the world of Sin (John 16:7-8). Lastly, I acknowledge biblical references to quantitative differences in the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers in different places and times, and for different purposes (Acts 2:1-4, 4:31, 8:17), but do not yet fully understand them.
The Nature of Man
We believe the first created man sinned against God (Gen 3:6), and that all men after him have been sinful in their very nature, from birth (Psa 51:5, 58:3, Rom 3:23, 5:12, 16, 18-19). We believe that mankind has nothing in its fallen nature that would allow it to choose to not sin against God (Jer 17:9, John 15:5, Rom 3:10-19, 7:18, Eph 2:18-19, Heb 11:6). We believe that the because of this, the whole of humanity deserves the eternal wrath of a righteous and good God (Rom 1:19-20, 5:9, 6:23).
Salvation
We believe Salvation from the wrath of God and enslavement to sin is possible for all of mankind because Christ bore God’s wrath in mankind’s place (Isa 53:4-12, Luke 3:6, John 3:16-18, 36, John 5:24, Acts 2:21, Rom 8:1, 10:13). We believe that God chooses those who will be saved (Matt 25:34, John 15:16, Rom 9:16-29, 11:7-10, 22, Eph 1:4-5, 1 Pet 1:2), and gives them the gift of faith in Christ (Rom 10:17-21, Eph 2:9). We believe that by faith in Christ’s person and work alone, mankind can be redeemed from it’s sinful state and restored to relationship with God (Rom 3:22, 5:1, Php 3:9). In this, we believe the elect are saved by God, from God, for God.
Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe God’s power is not limited in any way (Job 42:2, Ps 115:3, Isa 43:13, Eph 3:20), and as such, his plans of salvation for individuals cannot be thwarted (Matt 19:26, John 17:2, Php 1:6, Heb 7:25).
Spiritual Gifts and Authority
We believe God has given diverse abilities as gifts to those who believe in Christ, and that these gifts are to be used for the betterment of the Church (1 Cor 12:5-11, 27-31). We believe that God has not indicated a limitation of time with regards to the imparting of these gifts to believers in Scripture other than to the time between the life of Christ and His return. We believe that the office of Elder and the function of authoritative preaching to men are limited to men (1 Tim 2:12-15; 3:2). A note on headship and authority: We believe that men and women were created equally in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and join in a long history of Christian culture that re-affirms the dignity of women in God’s kingdom. We do not see Biblical headship as something that denigrates women unless Christ is denigrated by being under the Father’s headship (1 Cor 11:3). Although we grieve that at various times in Christian history, the Biblical teaching with regards to the complimentary, God ordained roles of men and women has been distorted and used to oppress women, we believe that understood correctly, the Bible gives a far higher status to women than any other worldview.
Christ’s Return
We believe Christ will return to the earth (Mk 19:62, Luke 21:29, Acts 1:11, Heb 9:28) to judge all men (Mk 25:32, 2 Pet 2:7, 9, Jude 14, 15) and reward the Godly with eternal life in Heaven (John 14:2, 2 Cor 5:1, Rev 19:6), and the ungodly with eternal damnation in a literal place of torment (Matt 8:12, 13:41-42, 25:41, 46, Mk 9:41, 43-49). We believe Christ will judge individuals based on their works (Psa 62:12, Matt 16:27, 2 Cor 5:10).
