We Believe in God, Who’s love is the life force of the Universe

I had a few reservations about writing a creed.  So often churches separate themselves by proclaiming what they believe.  It is as if what really matters is getting what we think about God exactly right . Often the statements of what they believe are more about what they don’t believe. To me, it is far better as a church to be known for what we do, than for our ability to understand and agree on church doctrine.  Beliefs do matter because often our actions follow out or our beliefs.  The problem comes when believing is a  substitute for be-loving.  

I want to make a distinction between belief and faith.  Belief is often about coming to a rational mental ascent to a set of statements about God.  An example of this is, “God loves all people.”   You can believe this is true without you participating in loving all people yourself.  

Faith as I understand it, is more about trusting in God.  To me, “faith” is less about being certain about the big mysterious questions, and trusting anyway, the best you can.  The longer I have been a pastor, the more I realize that there is a lot I don’t know. There is always a danger for me to want to be the, “answer pastor” rather than to be the “make space for wonder” pastor.  I have had to learn, and I am still learning to say, “I don’t know… what do you think?”  That to me is the beginning of  what it means to trust God.  

What do you think?  Thanks for joining me on this lenten journey. – pastor Tim