Agape Love
Agape Love
Love originated in the heart of the one true God. He created us in agape love in order for us to fellowship with Him and to reflect His Glory. He put us in the world to love and steward his creation as an extension of God’s beauty. He put us together with other diverse humans in order that we might learn to love one another as a reflection of the fellowship He shares with the Trinity. He redeemed us in Christ in order to lovingly restore us from our broken state. He created the Church which exists to praise Him and to draw all peoples into loving fellowship with the Creator.
Genuine love is found only in Christ and is nurtured by His Spirit who leads us to be disciples – followers who practice a biblical lifestyle. We learn to follow Christ and practice love in the context of Christian fellowship, by the guidance of the Word, and through the indwelling of His Spirit.
Christian love is neither weak nor insignificant. Love is the greatest, and most inspired of all gifts. Love is where divinity meets humanity. (I Cor 13)
Agape Love involves multiplying Christ’s love among:
- people who don’t know God,
- seekers who are searching to find God,
- and followers who are both learning and pointing the way to Christ.
Participation in Christ Fellowship is open to those who aren’t sure about God but want to know more, as well as to those who are seeking and following Christ. Everyone whom we encounter needs to understand that as Christ’s love is persistent, ours is also consistently seeking out those who want to know Him.
The way in which Christ Fellowship practices Christian Love is by aspiring to a biblical lifestyle and by practicing five biblical behaviors. We are not about rigorously following a set of rules and requirements. We are committed to passionately seek to know and to walk with Christ.
Members of Christ Fellowship Aspire to Five Biblical Behaviors
Scripture guides us to a lifestyle of Christian love. The reason we focus on “behaviors” rather than “membership requirements” is twofold.
First, anyone can affirm doctrines and requirements with their mouths while denying them with their lifestyles and actions. We state our doctrines clearly but don’t expect participants, who don’t yet know God, to affirm them.
Secondly, we want membership to be meaningful and real, rather than superficial and shallow. We don’t want to over-emphasize anything that implies that church membership is about “club membership” or the bestowing of “rights and privileges.” Membership is a journey associated with being a follower of Christ in a local community. We simply can’t find in scripture an emphasis on an entitlement mentality regarding church membership. The right of membership comes through Christ’s blood. The responsibilities of membership are found in scripture which we affirm as our guide for membership in His body.
We expect members to aspire to a biblical lifestyle. Such a lifestyle is modeled, taught, and mentored as we gather and as we go into our neighborhoods and work places. I can aspire on my own strength to certain behaviors and I will fail. A biblical lifestyle is only enabled through the work of God’s Spirit in us. As a follower of Christ His Spirit empowers me to know Him, to follow Him, and to walk with Him. As followers of Christ we encourage one another to follow Him. A biblical lifestyle comes together around the following five biblical commitments.
- WORD: A commitment to the supremacy of Christ Jesus and the integrity of His Holy Word. (Colossians 1:17-20; 2nd Peter 1:20-21; 2nd Timothy 3:16-17.)
- WALK: A commitment to Spirit empowerment in order to walk in faith and obedience, to demonstrate spiritual fruit, and to practice brotherly love. (Zechariah 4:6b; Acts 1:4,8; Galatians 5:16-26; 2nd Timothy 1:3-4.)
- WITNESS: A commitment to a lifestyle of holistic witness unto Christ for the purpose of permeating and transforming cultures as an act of spiritual worship. Such a lifestyle involves personal equipping, prayer, disciple making, and cross-cultural ministry, both locally and globally. Hospitality, opening your home and your heart to neighbors is one of the most natural forms of Christian witness. (2nd Chronicles 7:14-15; Micah 6:8; Matthew 22:36-39; Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 12:1-2; 2nd Timothy 2:1-24.)
- WORLD: A commitment to the completion of God’s mission to redeem all peoples unto Himself. (Genesis 12:1-3; Psalm 67; Revelation 7:9-12.)
- WAY OF GENEROSITY: A commitment to generous giving of time, talents, spiritual gifts, and resources to God’s work through a local fellowship, and through other like-minded kingdom ministries. (Malachi 3:8-10; I Peter 4:7-11; 1st Timothy 6:17-19)