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Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
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Table of Contents
What denomination are you?We have chosen the term "transdenominational" to describe ourselves. Trans meaning across, we believe the church should be willing to cross denominational boundaries for purposes of relationship and fellowship in the Kingdom of God. We believe we should hold to the essential for salvation - the blood of Christ as the means for our salvation, Christ being the only way for salvation; the Scripture as the inerrant and authoritative word of God (see our statements of beliefs for more). However, beyond these essentials we should not break fellowship over non-essentials to salvation. To illustrate how this has practically worked out in our congregation, we have over 18 different denominational backgrounds represented in our church - from Baptist to Catholic to Assembly of God to Church of Christ, just to name a few. These are people whom God placed as members in the body as it pleased Him (1 Cor 12:18) to grow up in Christ together following the apostle Paul's instructions: "till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-- Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Eph 4:13-16) Each person has had to work through their denominational upbringing (if raised in a Christian home) and the doctrines they were taught to be in the process of coming to a unity of faith in the local church. We have tried to teach it this way: "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:3)... till we all come to the unity of the faith..." (Eph 4:13) Our Senior Pastor is the son of an Assembly of God pioneer. His wife is from a Church of Christ background. Pastor Clark is from a Pentecostal/Assembly of God background, but his wife Christi was raised in the home of a Southern Baptist pastor. Pastor Davis graduated from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO. His wife Holly also has a Baptist background. Each one of us have had to humble ourselves to allow God to change us and our doctrine to become like Christ and His doctrine. We have been a church in reform, and it is very possible/probable that He is not yet done with us. Follow Up QuestionsAre you Charismatic?Yes. We believe the giftings of the Holy Spirit are for today, and we practice the Holy Spirits giftings in our services and in our devotional life. The expression of these giftings must always line up with the written revelation of God's word, the Bible. Further Reading: Are you Pentecostal?Yes. We believe in expressing our emotions in worship to the Lord, worshipping Him with our whole spirit, mind, will, emotions, and body. We do believe that God uses speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. However, we do not make this a distinctive and do not break fellowship over this issue. We teach that believers don't have to speak in tongues, they get to. Further Reading: Are you reformed in your beliefs about salvation?Yes. We have been a church in reform and have moved from an Armenian/dispensational theology to a faith in the sovereign election of God's grace. Those whom He has chosen for Himself are drawn to Him through the preaching of the Word of God. His irresistible grace draws us in such a way that when the time comes for us to respond to Him in faith for salvation, we gladly do so because He has caused us to be born again by His Holy Spirit (John 3:3-6). Simply said, even faith is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8), not something we could ever muster up for ourselves. However, we are partners with God for our growth process, submitting our wills to His, growing by the renewing of the mind (Rom. 12:1-2). The Scripture teaches that God is in charge, but man is responsible. The Holy Spirit has to show us how to practically apply this truth in every circumstance of life. What about the end-times?As stated above, we have been a church in reform. God has had us in the process of reform in our theology and doctrine concerning end-times for many years. We have moved from a dispensational view (mostly a negative futuristic view that places our hope in a secret rapture of the church that is imminent) to a reformed postmillennial or "realized millennial view. In this process we reprinted a book called Seventy Weeks and published The Present Reign of Jesus Christ by Robert Caringola. These books show the historicist approach to end-times events. However, most recently, we have moved to more of a past-fulfillment view of prophecy, teaching that events that popular dispensationalists place in the future were actually fulfilled in the past within the time contexts in which they were written. You can go to our bookstore page for a list of books we recommend in this area. Through all of our reform that God has led us through, we have held on to the conviction that He will use His people to change things in the earth as they will grow up into all that God has planned the church to be. We believe the best is yet to come! Further Reading: Isn't all of this kind of a strange mix?For traditional American cultural Christianity, it is somewhat of a strange mix. However, all we have done is try to stay open to how the Spirit would lead us into understanding the written revelation, the Bible. The problem with the traditional American cultural Christianity is that it is a mile wide, but only an inch deep. God is calling His church to grow up in Him so that we can fulfill the plans He has for His people in the earth. To do that, we will have to be open to God to use His Scripture to change our thinking, our doctrine when it is man-made, and our ways of doing things. Armenian (I chose God) Dispensational (sudden rapture theory) theology has held the people of God in bondage, and reform must come in our doctrinal thinking before revival can come and be sustained in our land. All of this has to be done through the leading of the Holy Spirit, who has come to dwell in us and lead us into all truth (Jn. 16:12-15). Further Reading: Back to Top
Do you have a children's ministry?Yes. Because we have a long-term outlook for the future, we place a high priority on raising our children in the ways of Jesus Christ. God thinks generationally, and so must we. We believe that God wants us to pass on generational wealth of the kingdom of God (spiritual understanding, character development, etc) and riches (financial and otherwise) to our children. After the worship time in the Sunday morning service, our children (ages 3-11) have their own service where they are taught the same principles as the adults, only on their level. Also, we have a ministry that meets on the 3rd Saturday of each month called Amazing Graceland. This ministry uses puppets, songs, stories, and games to teach the truths of the gospel. This is also a good time for the children to reach out and invite their friends who do not go to church or who do go to church but would like to participate in a Saturday morning ministry. Our children also participate in the vision of the church at their level. In the past we gave them all WWJD bracelets to wear at school and use as an opportunity to tell others about Jesus. They are currently being encouraged to read and write articles for our Present Truth Magazine, as well as giving them to their teachers at school. Those who have participated in this way have mostly had very positive results, giving them a sense of meaning and involvement in what the Lord is doing through the church's outreach. Back to Top
Do you have a youth ministry?Our College & Youth meet on Sunday evenings at the church where there is music and teaching that applies to their age level. We also do special activities where they can invite their friends who might not be comfortable in a church setting. Each summer, we have a weeklong youth camp where we can have more intensive Bible study, fellowship, and time to grow in the Lord. We begin each morning with a time of personal devotions, continue with activities that teach the Scripture and are entertaining, have free time, an evening service, and we end with night games such as capture the flag or hide and seek. Our young people have traditionally returned from youth camp feeling spiritually invigorated with a greater desire to participate in youth group and the things of the Lord. We encourage our youth to participate in the vision of the church at their level of influence. We participate in cleaning the church as a group, do work projects, and reach out to others within our sphere of influence at school and work. We have had college and youth teams going out weekly to place our Present Truth Magazine (a publication of our church) in waiting areas around the city where people have opportunity to sit and read magazines. The young people also have reached out to their teachers by giving these magazines to them, asking if they would like to be on the mailing list. We also encourage them to read Present Truth Magazine and to be open to writing an article as the Spirit leads. We have an organization at SMSU called Abundant Life and You for our college age. We encourage our college age become leaders in the youth group, being appropriate role models for those they are leading. They help with activities, camp, music, and the discipleship process. Ideally, college age can model Christ to the high school age, who can model Christ to the Junior High age. We try to teach and practice these principles. Because we have a long-term view of the future and we believe that God wants to use His people to change the culture, we encourage our youth/college to seek the Lord to discover His calling for their lives. We believe that not only pastors need to understand a sense of calling from the Lord, but all professions do - whether doctor, lawyer, carpenter, teacher, etc. God places people in their individual calling to be Christ to that field, so that it can be changed into His image and reflect His character. When young people come to see that God has a calling for them where He intends to use them, they develop a sense of purpose in their lives that brings fulfillment in what they do - in work, in family, in church, and in society. Back to Top
Do you have a men's ministry/group?Yes. Our men meet on the first and third Saturday mornings of each month for breakfast and fellowship. There is a time for sharing testimonies and teaching at each meeting. This has also been a good time to invite men who are not a part of the church for fellowship and to build relationships. Back to Top
Do You Marry People?Yes. We believe that marriages should take place within the context of the local church. In reference to marriage, Jesus said, "...what God has joined together, let not man separate." (Matt 19:6) The question has been asked of us, "How do you know what (who) God has joined together?" This question is especially important in a culture where we are experiencing a greater than 50% divorce rate, and that rate is not much improved among Christians. God's answer is found in the local church. When a couple desires to be married, they come to one of the pastors and share their faith about how they believe God is wanting to join them together in marriage. We give pre-marriage counseling and post-marriage counseling. In the pre-marriage counseling, we explain how God joins couples together in marriage (Matt. 19:4-6), but this needs to be done under the authority of the local church. Therefore, the couple understands that they are being married under God's direct authority and His delegated authority, and "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matt 18:18) Therefore, they can have a confidence that God is joining them together and as long as both parties will humble themselves to receive direction and correction from the Lord and from the church, they will be able to overcome any problem they face in marriage. We have been practicing this in our local church for many years now, and consider it God's solution to the divorce problem in our culture. Follow Up Question:Do you marry divorced people?We believe that the decision whether to remarry after divorce or not must be
made within the context of the local church that is operating under the wisdom
and guidance of the Holy Spirit. These decisions must be made by mature
leaders in the local church, who are able to discern the circumstances, God's
purposes of redemption in the individual's life, and His purposes of
reconciliation. In that context, we counsel people who have been the victims
of divorce and give wisdom about the best way to proceed forward.
Why do you have the word "Covenant" in your name?We added the word "covenant" to the name of our church because all the reform that the Lord has led us in has pointed to more of a "covenant" theology with a "covenant" practice of worship and one another relationships. It is impossible to have a mature understanding of the Bible without understanding the concept of covenant. As one author put it, "...covenant is the air which Scripture breathes" (See the book I Will Be Their God for some excellent reading on this subject). God is a covenant keeping God, and He has spent generations, from Adam forward, teaching His people about His covenant. Because of this, we believe that their are seven main covenants in the Bible: Eden, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus. Each of these covenants builds on the previous covenants that God had made and uses them as a foundation. The covenant that God made with Jesus, and with us through Jesus, is the final covenant. As the author of Hebrews states, it is an "everlasting covenant" (Heb. 13:8). Viewing the Bible as a book of covenants, showing God's faithfulness to keep His covenant to all generations, changes the way we think about God, ourselves, and the future. This replaces dispensational theology, which teaches that the Bible is made up of several dispensations, where He relates differently to the people in each dispensation (many dispensationalists or "rapturists" may not know that their doctrine actually teaches this, but it does). The dispensationalists/"rapturists" are waiting for a soon coming rapture of the church that will take the world into the next dispensation (called the kingdom dispensation) where a physical Jesus with the Jews will rule the world through a physical political structure from Jerusalem. Covenant theology gives a more sound understanding form the Bible of God's plan for us and our future: the church is the true Israel of God (Gal. 3:7,6:16; Rom. 2:28-29; Gal. 3:28-29) and has been given the assignment to change our culture and be God's representative on the earth. This is to be done through a spiritual kingdom by the preaching and teaching of the gospel, not a physical political kingdom. We are in the New (and final!) Covenant and we have been given the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill our calling in the earth. Covenant theology also spills over into the way we practice our one another relationships in the body of Christ. Where we are placed in the local church for service is not a matter of personal preference, but rather a matter of God's leading in the believer's life, to be confirmed in the local church setting. The Scripture states that God places members in the body as it pleases Him (1 Cor. 12:18). God places us in local fellowship with His people so that we can live in covenant together, grow together, and support one another in the body of Christ. Privilege, responsibility, and accountability should be practiced and lived out in the local church. Because of this understanding, we practice covenantal commitments. These commitments are outlined in our Statements of Beliefs page. "He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand
generations." (Ps 105:8)
EmailsQuestionI would like to ask you a question,
if I may. I notice in your FAQs, that you have "speaking in tongues" in
your church. I would like to know if you have an interpreter present as
it says to in I Corinthians 14:27 & 28? If not, how do you keep an
orderly worship service? Also, are the tongues that are being spoken,
other languages as in Acts? Answer
With regards to your question
about speaking in tongues, we believe that all of the tongue's
controversy does need to be discussed within the context of keeping
order in the church. If we were to read Paul's discussion on keeping
order in the church, we might start with 1 Corinthians 11:18 and end
with 1 Corinthians 14:40: "For first of all, when you come together as
a church....let all things be done decently and in order." In this
context, the apostle Paul gives instruction about tongues, prophecy,
and many other manifestations of the Spirit for public settings.
About tongues, Paul says, "For he who speaks in a tongue does not
speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the
spirit he speaks mysteries...He who speaks in a tongue edifies
himself..." (14:2-4). We often practice this type of speaking in
tongues in our service in our praise and worship to the Lord so that
people may praise the Lord in tongues and edify themselves in so
doing.
We also practice tongues as
prophecy as Paul outlines it in chapter 14. Basically, Paul's teaching
is that tongues + interpretation = prophecy for edification of the body
(14:3-25). We occasionally practice this type of edification in our
services. We have asked the people who have a prophetic tongue to come
forward to the microphone and speak it, and then someone may also come
to the microphone to interpret for prophetic edification of the church.
Sometimes this is the same person. In this way we follow Paul's
exhortation in 14:26-32 to keep order in the way things are being done.
With regard to women in ministry,
we teach that in Christ "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). With the exception
of Corinth and a few other places where there were cultural problems
with women in leadership, Paul accepted women leaders in ministry (Lydia:
Acts 16:12-15, 40, Phil. 1:1-10, Priscilla Acts 18:2,
18, 24-26, Rom. 16:3, 1 Cor. 16:19; Philip's four daughters who
prophesied Acts 21:9; Phebe Rom. 16:1-2;
Junia-most likely a woman apostle Rom. 16:7)
It has been our experience that
the best way to discover what is going on in a church is to taste the
spirit of it in a service. You would be welcome to visit and do just
that if you are in the Springfield area.
Lastly, for further reading and
study on these subjects, I would recommend the following materials:
1. Unity in
Community Through Glossolalia is a booklet we published to
give our view on tongues. It can be purchased or read on our
website by clicking
here.
2. The Three
Prejudices by Kelly Varner deals extensively with the
subject of women in ministry and would represent our viewpoint. This
book may also be purchased from our bookstore, but it is not on the web
for preview.
I keep reading in Present Truth Magazine that Jesus' "return" was in AD 70. What scripture are you looking at to support this? Answer
There is no single Scripture that says that Jesus returned in 70 AD.
Where we get that from is the fact that all the New
Testament writers taught that Jesus would return soon (imminently). The
later date their writings get, the more imminent they sound. Jesus
Himself predicted His return within the lifetime of those He spoke to.
That said, we look to what event could have fulfilled these prophecies.
That event took place in 70 AD when the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem
and it's temple. In the Old Testament, God always came in judgment in
the form of a foreign army to bring judgment to His people. We believe
He did the same in 70 AD to the Jewish people who rejected Jesus and His
apostles. Therefore, the great tribulation took place then, and the
book of Revelation with all it's symbolic devastation was fulfilled
then. We call this the covenantal past fulfillment view of eschatology
because the Bible prophecies of destruction were covenantal not
cataclysmic; that is, they were directed at God's covenant people
(the Jews) who continually rejected Jesus and His apostles (1 Thess.
2:16, John 1:11), becoming the enemy of Christ in their day (Rom. 11:28,
Phil. 3:18, Jn 8:44). If you read all of Deuteronomy 28, the covenant
curses in the second half of the chapter is what took place with the
return of Christ in 70 AD to the covenant breaking Jews (cf. Matt.
23:34-36). (We are not anti-Semitic today. We just believe that
current day Jews need Christ like any other people, and there is no
Biblical significance to the current political state of Israel. They
are just like China, or Lebanon, etc., who all need Christ to solve the
problems they are experiencing.)
Here are just a few passages that speak of an imminent return of Christ:
Matthew 10:23: "… For assuredly, I say to you, you will
not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
Matthew 24:34: "Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” John 16:16: "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me…." Romans 13:12: “The night is far spent, the day is at hand…. Philippians 4:5: “Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.” James 5:8: “…Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” Hebrews 10:37: "For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.” I John 2:18: “Little children, it is the last hour….” Rev 1:3; 22:20: “for the time is near.” “Yes, I am coming soon. 1 John and Revelation were written later, around 66-69 AD. Notice the language becoming more imminent: "it is the last hour" and "the time is near". They were watching events, such as the Jews rebelling against Roman authority and battles with the emperor Vespasian and Titus. This told them the time was at hand. Historically, General Vespasian pressed the attack and surrounded Jerusalem, but before he could destroy it, he had to go back to Rome to become the next emperor. The Jews considered this a great victory and thought God had delivered them as He had in the past (see Hezekiah's story in 1 Kings 19:1-37) However, the Christians in the city remembered Jesus' prophecy of Matthew 24 and Luke 21 and obeyed it, getting out of the city. When Emperor Vespasian sent his son Titus to crush Jerusalem, the Christians had all gone to a place called Pella and were safe, but the Jews who rejected Jesus' prophecy stayed believing God would deliver them. They were slaughtered by the thousands, and more from internal divisions and civil war for power than by the Romans.
Here are those prophecies and some thoughts about their fulfillment:
Matthew 24
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. The gospel was preached to all the Roman world or land as Paul says in Col. 1:6, Rom 1:8, 10:18 The end spoken of is not the end of the world, but the end of old covenant Israel with its old covenant practices of animal sacrifices, etc. It is the end of a national Israel with any Biblical significance. 15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Very Practical advice, and the Christians followed it. In Luke 21:20, Jesus defines the abomination of desolation as a foreign army. The Christians fled to the mountains of Pella at their opportunity when Vespasian left.
17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out
of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his
clothes. They rushed out before Titus got back. No time
to waste, because if you got caught in the city, you were doomed with
the rest.
19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing
babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter
or on the Sabbath. Practical comments, since they would
have to travel to the mountains, and if it was on a Sabbath, no Jews in
the country would help them.
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been
since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Historical records left by Josephus tell of horrible
tribulation within the city: Jews killing Jews, starvation, a woman
eating her baby for lack of food, bodies left to rot in the temple area,
Jews who tried to escape being crucified outside the city walls, etc.
It was a horrible tribulation. It was the great tribulation!
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved;
but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. 23 Then if anyone
says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.
24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs
and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. The
civil wars in the city were over who was in charge. One leader would
rise up and say he was the Christ and would lead the Jews to victory
over Rome. Another would rise up and prophecy he was the one. They
would fight and Jews were left dead all over the city. When the Romans
finally broke in, all they had to do was the mop up because the Jews had
done so much damage to themselves.
25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 Therefore if they say to you,
'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner
rooms!' do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east
and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles (vultures) will be
gathered together. Jesus pronounced Jerusalem desolate in
Matt. 23:38. It was a dead carcass waiting for the Romans (with the
sign of the eagle on their shields) to finish it off just as vultures
eat the dead.
Here is the parallel section in Luke:
Luke 21:20-24
20 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Again, it is very practical wisdom that Jesus is giving to those who
believed Him. However, those rejecting him ignored His teaching and
stayed behind for destruction.
All of this is just the tip of the iceberg, because once you begin to
see things in the context in which they were written, it changes the
meaning of the parables and Scriptures. For example, the parables of
vinedressers in Matt 21:33-44, the wedding feast in Matt 22:1-14, the
wise and foolish virgins in Matt 25, etc. all refer to this event! They
are not about a future event for us, but a future event for them. We
can still learn from their principles, but we are not to apply them to
our future.
For further reading in this area, please visit our
bookstore section. Some of the best are
John Noe's Beyond the End
Times and
Shattering the
Left Behind Delusion. Gary Demar also does a thorough job
of examining Matthew 24 and related passages in his book
Last Days Madness.
If you have questions that were not addressed in this Q&A page, please feel free to email, call, or write to us. We hope to make this page a growing document that will answer most of the frequently asked questions that people have for us.Revised: August 30, 2007 . |
