“REASON TO BELIEVE” RECOMMENDED READING

Understanding Intelligent Design (William Dembski and Sean McCdowell)

The Design of Life (William Dembski and Jonathan Wells)

Twelve Points That show Christianity Is True (Norman Geisler)

The Genesis Debate: Three Views on the Days of Creation (J. Ligon Duncan III)

Three Views on Creation and Evolution (Counterpoints) (John Mark Reynolds)

COMMITMENTS OF A COMMUNITY UNITED IN LOVE

1. Worship (Ex 20:2-3; Psalm 115:1-8; Phil 2:9-11): I commit my allegiance to King Jesus over all other idols and ideologies.

2. Love of Neighbor (Phil 2:1-11; Mt 22:34-40): I commit to participating politically, in word and deed, as a means of loving and serving my neighbor rather than just serving my own interests.

3. Image of God (Gen 1:26; James 3:9): I commit to honoring the image of God in all people by treating them with respect and abstaining from dehumanizing caricatures.

4. Biblical Wisdom (Psalm 119; 2 Tim 3:16): I commit to having my views challenged by the Biblical Story rather than using the Bible to proof-text my predetermined positions.

5. Fruitful Speech (Gal 5:22-23; James 3): I commit to engaging in discourse with speech that’s marked by the fruit of the Spirit--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 

6. Humble Learning (James 1:19; 1 Cor 12:12-26): I commit to being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger as I seek to learn from the varied perspectives within the body of Christ.

7. Remove the Log (Mt 7:1-5): I commit to giving more attention to critiquing the potential flaws in my own leanings, conduct, and sin than I give to scrutinizing others. 

8. Biblical Justice (Isa 1:17; Micah 6:8; Mt 23:23): I commit to understanding and pursuing a Biblical vision of justice. This means I will not minimize Scripture’s repeated call to seek justice and I will allow Scripture to critique popular conceptions of justice in our culture.

9. Peacemaking (Mt 18:15-17; Rom 12:17-21): I commit to face-to-face conflict resolution rather than arguments online.

10. Loving Enemies (Mt 5:43-44; 1 Tim 2:1-4): I commit to loving and praying for my so-called “enemies,” especially those whom I have the hardest time loving and praying for.