Our expectation is that God's work should be supported by God's people, who should follow Biblical teaching on the subject of giving.
The Old Testament tithe (10% and the principle of firstfruits - in other words, not giving leftovers) is Biblical and is the basis of New Testament giving. We would encourage everyone to give at least 10% because it enables the church to care for its own and to advance its mission. Giving under grace should prompt us to sacrifice and give even more than God once required.
Only a very few people (one elder, our bookkeeper and a third person involved for security and integrity) are aware of who gives how much. That information is not shared with all the leadership or anyone else (except for year-end giving statements for each family).
Though some churches operate on faith pledges for projects, we do not. We believe promising to do something financially can be presumptuous and can put someone in the position of having to go back on a promise to God.
Instead, we make our plans based on what the Lord is doing and providing, step out on faith when necessary and trust Him to provide as we go.
Anyone can request at any time a summary of the Chapel's finances and budget.
We're glad you were with us and hope to see you again soon!
Churches have a wide variety of procedures for providing aid to people in their congregations. Some have committees that must approve financial aid. One church I know of encourages people to put money into the offering plate if they have it to give, and to take it out of the plate if they have a need.
We're somewhere between. If there is a need from someone in the congregation, one or more of the elders is informed of the situation and we help as we are able and to the extent it is wise.
If it's someone outside the congregation, we are not often able to help directly with needs like rent/mortgage assistance and utility payments. We believe that local churches are responsible for caring for those in their fellowship, and we encourage people to be involved with a church and seek help there as God directs.
Our church and people within it also support ministries like Greenhouse Ministries, which provide direct aid of various kinds. Thanks, and please get in touch if I misunderstood the question!
May the Lord bless you richly in your fellowship.
We are nondenominational. When our fellowship began in the 50's, it was out of a desire to follow Christ as individuals and as a local church according to New Testament principles.
If Scripture instructed something be done a certain way (elders having certain qualifications, for example) or indicated in general that the early church did something that we could follow (meeting on the first day of the week), we did.
If there were things Christ instructed (remembering Him in the Lord's Supper) but the style or frequency wasn't mentioned, we made sure we did what was commanded (remember Him) in a way that matched up with other Scripture (let all things be done decently and in order). From there, we do things in a way that makes sense to our body of believers. We want to provide enough of a framework so that what we do is relevant, but not so much that we are tradition-bound.
So, we simply claim Scripture as our guide and filter and don't claim any name other than Christ. Our desire is to follow Him as a group of believers, not have alignment or allegiance to a humanly organized group.
There are other New Testament assemblies in the area - (Nashville, Donelson, etc.) and we partner with them in supporting Horton Haven Christian Camp in Chapel Hill, and we keep up with what the others are doing, and we love and pray for each other, but we have no formal connection or governance.
So, when you visit on a Sunday, you're hearing what our leadership believes our congregation needs to hear, understand and experience.
Now, this relates to the second question. We don't have a pastor (i.e., one man with that title who does all the preaching and leading and visitation and approving) because Scripture doesn't describe that role in church leadership.
The Bible outlines expectations and partial roles of elders and deacons, as well as the ministry roles of all believers in the church. So we are led and governed by (currently) six elders and six deacons (the number fluctuates by need) who meet the qualifications outlined in Scripture.
These leaders function as pastors, plural, in shepherding and leading the congregation together. Decisions are made together, with no significant action taken without all being in agreement. There's no voting anybody down or faction-leading. Sometimes this can slow down the implementation of new ideas, but it helps keep us Scriptural.
The rest of us function as believers with various abilities, gifts, talents, desires and convictions. Nobody has to get approval from a board to do something, but we aren't Lone Rangers, either.
You won't find anyone at the Chapel who criticizes other churches for having pastors - just like the Bible doesn't prohibit driving cars, it doesn't prohibit a pastorship. But we believe that sticking with a plurality of leadership helps us avoid "the cult of personality" and the challenges that come with one person being the leader, the gatekeeper, the hospital visitor and the most overworked person in the body. We all pitch in and all of us do all of those things.
That being said, we do have people in visible positions of leadership. Currently, three men share our pulpit, preaching on various topics and Scripture passages. I serve in leading the music team and coordinating much of the Sunday morning service. We have a youth minister and a secretary/bookkeeper, and all of us have specific responsibilities and areas of expertise.
But during the week and behind the scenes, you'd find the speakers hearing from the elders about what will be preached, the elders asking me to accomplish a certain thing in the service, and my going to the speakers to learn their goals so I can support them...that kind of thing.
A true plurality of leadership can and does work if you want it to and allow the Lord Jesus to be the ultimate Head of the church. If we all defer to Him and work with each other, we'll be fine.
Hope this answers your questions (long-windedly), and hope you'll come see us sometime.
Thanks.
Simply put, whatever the Bible calls sin, we at New Heights call sin. Scripture, both the Old and New Testaments, indicates that homosexual behavior (male-male or female-female) is contrary to God's standard (which is the simple definition of sin). God demonstrated His pattern for couples by creating male-female relationships and sexual fulfillment in marriage. Nothing outside that has ever obtained His approval.
As such, homosexual behavior is sin. And as such, it can be forgiven.
Any sin, at its root, is simply an attempt to meet legitimate needs illegitimately. God created people to fellowship with Him; but the first man and first woman chose their own thinking and preferences over God's. That first sin killed their spiritual life, separating them from free, full fellowship with God. Eve wanted to have what she thought God was withholding. Adam wanted to please his wife more than He wanted to please God. Together, they went on to produce physically living but spiritually dead children.
Several quadrillion sins later, the human race is no closer (or farther) from God than Adam and Eve were after one act of disobedience. Each of us still chooses our own way, follows our feelings instead of God's revealed path, and suffers through consequences we were never intended to experience.
So, if homosexual behavior is a sin and is forgiven, does that mean we believe homosexuals can be "fixed" through reparative therapy or other means?
Well, yes and no. When a person becomes a Christian, regardless of what addictions, problems, habits or needs are present, that person becomes a new creature. The old has passed away, the new has come, and the new person in Christ has a new standing before God. A new child of God is not the rebellious person s/he was before.
However, physically, emotionally, sexually and habitually, homosexual longings and identifications are immensely complicated. If these were just physical, patches or hypnosis or new habits could change outlook and behavior.
But deep down, homosexuality is also a pursuit of something other than God - it is an effort to find one's self-identity and acceptance and love in another person. It is not just sex or a relationship. It is misplaced worship. Which explains why God condemns it.
Yes, we believe some people are healed, delivered or changed - whatever word you prefer - from homosexuality and its accompanying desires and feelings. But many more people formerly involved with homosexual behaviors, who come to Christ, experience a purpose they didn't have before and a strength to resist what they now know is wrong, not an eradication of one brand of lust.
Which brings me to this. Even if reparative therapy is pursued, the Healer is Christ. He knows the desires and needs and will meet them in His own way. It is only through a relationship with Him that homosexuality is revealed to be a cheap substitute for what God intended. And the ultimate goal for anyone is not heterosexuality, but holiness.
I hope this helps, though I may have gone on a wild tangent or two. Thanks again for writing, and feel free to get in touch if you'd like to talk about this more.
