This past Sunday at Zoar Baptist Church we had the privilege of ordaining and installing two persons to the deacon ministry of our church. As part of that service I referred to our church’s statement of faith enshrined in our constitution and by-laws.

We believe the Holy Bible is the inspired word of God and is the basis for any statement of faith. Jesus Christ is the word become flesh and is the ultimate revelation of God’s person and will. We band ourselves together as a body of baptized believers in Jesus Christ personally committed to sharing the good news of salvation to lost mankind.

It is pretty short and simple, especially for a congregation more than 200 years old. You might expect something longer and more elaborate, but there isn’t any need to make things more complicated than they have to be.

The same is true of our stated objectives which are best summed up by the phrase: “The church will strive to function as a New Testament Church.” In fact two pages later the job description of the pastor simply states that: “The pastor is responsible for leading the church to function as a New Testament Church.” That’s it…