ABOUT MY BELIEFS
My Philosophy of Ministry
here to help the next.
My philosophy of ministry as a youth worker is to fully engage students in a spiritual life that connects them with the Creator of the universe and the Son of God, while providing support for them when life and faith intertwine, as seen in my motto of "here to help the next". I wish to seek a revival of youth culture by their involvement in the local church body of believers and in their communities where not only I, but the church can be there for these students. Youth are not only the future of the church – they are also a part of the present church. For this reason, I will base my ministry off of the relation of Paul with Timothy, seen in 1 Timothy 4:12.
My Theology
Theology to me is not something intended to be taken as stone cold facts, nor should it only be developed in a swell of emotions. When looking at the world around me, theology is to be a vibrant and living set of beliefs that causes me to act in obedience to the kingdom of God. To help keep myself centered on both a personal faith and a congregational faith, I sometimes use the Wesleyan Quadrilateral for the basis of my theology: scripture, tradition, logic, and experience. Below are some of my unchanging and never ceasing truths for faith.
GOD THE FATHER
God is the ultimate Creator of the universe, displaying His love and Holiness throughout creation. While God may be referred to as "father", He is not a human but rather the ultimate divine power over all cities, nations, and galaxies, and therefore can carry attributes of both male and female (for we are made in His image). His unconditional love and mercy is given to us everyday, but there will be justice served one day from His righteous wrath to our fallen world. He is perfect and good and is worthy of our worship.
JESUS CHRIST
I strongly affirm that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior of the world, and being God incarnate yet God's son, redeeming all of humanity from their sins through his sacrificial death and glorious resurrection. Jesus came to humanity as a highly relatable figure, showing he was the one thing this world always needed. I believe all his actions to be true, and his parables are easy to understand. Going hand in hand, it is simple to find many ways in which the stories taught by Jesus can be applied in a metaphorical way, and I believe there is not just one correct interpretation of his teachings. However, I do realize Jesus may have meant one specific thing within context of surroundings, helping to lead to a more accurate application of his meaning, so therefore Jesus does give us the truth but not all interpretations must be true. This can all be found in the four gospels, which is the life and account of Jesus.
HOLY SPIRIT
Being given to the world as a gift during the ascension of Jesus, I believe the Holy Spirit has always existed, the same as both the Father and the Son. This is the spirit of God present on Earth today by influencing followers of Christ to read the scripture and be moved to action. The Holy Spirit of God is that which compels and convicts humans, working on each one of our hearts so we can yearn God and love Him more.
THE BIBLE
The Bible is God's revelation to humanity through the numerous authors and how they saw God. It is a beautiful mix of stories, prophecies, history, and wisdom bred out of centuries of changes within the ancient near eastern world. Reading the Bible and continuing to interpret it within a community of believers is a blessing and a discipline. All of the words of the Bible are Truth from God as spoken through humanity, and it still lends itself to a common theology of such a loving God who cares for His people, but also will send consequences for not aligning to His will, pointing to a solution to fix our relationship to God.
THE CHURCH
God's church is the continuation of Jesus' ministry on Earth in order to spread the gospel of Jesus and the love of God to create disciples of the Christian faith. I believe the local church was one of the new communities in the family of God that Jesus advocated for with his small group of disciples. While meeting in a church building should become a habit for members in the faith, the church is the corporate fellowship of two or more Christians, thus creating the body of Christ.
SOCIAL ISSUES
Rupertus Meldenius famously said, “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” It is in social and cultural issues when I look to Meldenius' wise quote, the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, the stances found in H. Richard Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture, and ask God for grace and love when dealing with Christian ethics and culture. By constantly staying close to God through the Bible, only then can we begin to navigate social issues.