StoRyLifePath is built around the idea that God’s unfolding story, from the beginning of time, involves each one of us. We all have a story to tell, and each of our stories is worth being heard. We see how Jesus told stories to reveal God to people, so we try to do the same. We also understand that as we meet new people, they have a story as well, and we are eager to hear their story. Stories have great moments and dark moments, they hold conflict and hope, and constant change and growth. We know that this is true in each of our lives, and as a whole family. We view our LifePath journey as an exciting narrative that God is writing, as we seek to represent God’s kingdom in northern Delaware.
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ParticipationThe idea of “church” being a passive thing that you went to and sat at was not the original idea. We believe that everyone is a participant. There are no spectators in God’s story- only characters. We understand that every single person has been given certain gifts by God which can be used to bless others and bring fullness to His body, so we do our best to make sure those gifts are used.
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WorshipFollowing the way of Jesus means loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving others like ourselves. One way that we love God is through music, reflection, and creative ways of connecting with God, thanking God for who he is and for his incredible love and grace in our lives. This sets us apart from the world. We don’t worship money, success, sex, entertainment, or pleasure. We worship a living Creator God who invites us into relationship with him through Christ.
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serviceOur leader, Jesus, came as one who served. He modeled this form of leadership and love in every single way, and we seek to be people who serve and bless the world as well. We find that as we engage in loving acts of service to our neighbors, our friends, and each other, the kingdom of God leaps forward out of theory and becomes something tangible. When people experience good works done by people seeking to follow God… they sense that God is indeed good. We believe that, and we think that God’s goodness ought to be shared with everyone.
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justice and compassion
It’s nearly impossible to read the Bible and not see a central theme emerge regarding compassion. Hundreds of verses, in both the Old and New Testament, urge God’s people to be about the business of offering love, care, and tangible help to those in need. The prophets offered harsh words when the people of Israel ignored the poor and propagated injustices. Jesus spoke over and over again that God is indeed with those who are suffering, grieving, and hurting in any way. And he spent time with these people, serving, healing, and offering compassion. So we choose to be with them as well. In our current world, we cannot ignore the reality that many of us live in excess, while millions around the world live in want of the most basic life necessities. We believe that if the Church does not address these issues, they cease to be God’s Church. We want to go beyond “well-meaning” and into action. We can’t ignore James’ warning in chapter 2:15-17:
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
CommunityWe’re not meant to do life alone. We value the difficult journey of walking with one another through life, choosing to place more value on the “we” than the “I.” Caring about people doesn’t come naturally, and so we make the commitment to share more than simply an hour together each week. We also value the community we live in, and we seek to be a blessing to our own neighborhoods, to build relationships and be good news to everyone around us.
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authenticityEvery person has brokenness in their lives- heartache, struggles, unrealized dreams, and areas of weakness. When we openly acknowledge these things in the context of caring relationships, we free up other people to do the same. Keeping up false pretenses does nothing to help us become more like Jesus. As we are honest with ourselves and one another, we allow the hope of Jesus to finally get through to us and bring transformation.
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humilityThe desire to know everything God knows goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. But the reality is that right now, we see things about as clearly as a cloudy mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12). One day we’ll get the full story, but there’s a lot of mystery until then. And yet we are able to have confidence in our convictions, because we’ve seen God work. So we follow Jesus intentionally as best we can, knowing that we don’t have all the answers, and we welcome conversation and dialogue. We don’t want to add to the reputation that Christians are arrogant and judgmental. Unfortunately, people have done a lot of harm in the name of Christ, and we are seeking to humbly change that reality as we walk with God into the future.
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creativityWe can’t be children of the Creator of the universe and not be creative ourselves. In Jesus we see ultimate creativity, a willingness to engage the world in a way never seen before, to reveal God in a new light where there were many misunderstandings. We want to follow those footsteps. We think that there is a lot of truth in art and beauty, and we love to include those things in our community as well.
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laugHterIf we cannot let loose, laugh with one another, and enjoy our relationships, then something is still missing. When Jesus said that he came to bring fullness of life, he meant that we can live with joy and hope each day. So we laugh together, and we try not to take each other seriously all the time. We haven’t become family until we can truly laugh at ourselves, and with each other.
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