September 2019

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Recently a Christian author and pastor of Covenant Life Church, Joshua Harris, announced that he was abandoning the Christian faith. He is the author of the book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” which has sold over a million copies. He said that he lost his Christian faith and thus leaving Christianity.
I feel sorry for him. In my opinion, he does not have to “throw out the baby with the bathwater.” Like him, there are lots of man-made doctrines and dogmas I no longer believe. But unlike him, there are lots of Christian teachings I still believe.
I still believe that the greatest commandment of all is to love God and to love people. I still believe that what God requires of us is justice, kindness, and humility. I still believe that as followers of Jesus, we should “Love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who persecute us.” I still believe that we should pray, as Jesus prayed, “not our will but God’s will be done.” I still believe that we should not judge others lest we shall be judged. I still believe that we should treat others, as we would like to be treated. I still believe that we should be the peacemakers and the light of the dark world.
As we often have a garage sale to get rid of old stuff no longer used, needing to make room for new stuff - I believe that it’s OK for us to get rid of obsolete church teachings that are no longer relevant in order to make room for newly interpreted church teachings, that make sense for modern people.
I believe that there are timeless truths that make sense regardless of time and space. I believe in God who is love, in Jesus who is our teacher, in the holy spirit who is our helper. I believe in humility, wisdom, justice, peace, compassion and love.
I hope that our church welcomes people who raise honest questions about the Christian faith, and I believe that our church can help people to grow in wisdom, love, and faith in a loving God.
Let us invite people to join us in our spiritual journey, fellowship and service to the suffering world. Let us be a group of creative Christians who will make a positive impact in the world.
Come join our church as new members and friends! Our church’s door is open to all! Let us follow our leader, Jesus Christ, so that Christ may show forth in us!
​Pastor Jerry