Matters to Mission

Because God has created each individual with unique gifts for the building up of the body of Christ and community, and because a Christ-follower’s personal response to God is in community, Individual Matters is a core principle of the M2M Charlotte community. It is imperative that every individual regardless of race, creed, orientation or economic status be welcomed and affirmed and provided opportunities to share their gifts and participate in the life of the community.  The community will encourage every person to take what they need and to give what they can.  All will be valued; all will belong and all will be part of the work.  God has created each of us with unique gifts. In community we will discover those gifts, encourage those gifts, celebrate those gifts and make room for those gifts.

God desires to hold God’s people in covenant embrace.  God is not “up there” or “out there” somewhere, but in the very ground of our being. God desires to know and to be known. Human beings are created in God’s image and also carries those self same desires. Because of these truths, relationship is a core principle of the M2M Charlotte community.  “To know and be known” is missional at its core. In order to be missional the community will strive to “be the church” in context and culture; love in word and deed and be in relationship with all of God’s creation.

With Jesus Christ as the object of our faith, corporate worship will be the anchor to which all matters of response and participation are tethered.  Because worship is an essential part of our relationship with God and is manifest in our corporate and personal lives, worship and all that it entails is a core principle of the community.  The chief end of human beings is to glorify God and enjoy God forever; creating an environment   that promotes and fosters what is important.

In words of William Placher, “If God becomes human in this way, (incarnation), then that tells us something about how we might seek our own fullest humanity – not in quest of power and wealth and fame but in service, solidarity with the despised and rejected, and the willingness to be vulnerable in love.”  Service is a core principle of the M2M Charlotte community; therefore Service Matters.  Scriptures shows us that the disciples were empowered by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to undertake a life of service and to be an inclusive worshipping community, sharing life in which love, justice, and mercy abounded.  It will be the goal of the community to provoke one another to love and good deeds.  The core and heart of Service Matters is directly related to the core and heart of Relationship Matters; therefore the service initiatives of the community will be missional and Service Matters will be the umbrella under which any   service projects and initiatives will be undertaken and overseen.

Because the process of learning to live like Jesus; being shaped into the image of Christ in order to participate in the Mission of God on earth is vital to the health and well-being of the church, discipleship is a core principle of the community.  Following Christ is understood to be an act of studying his teachings, grasping the relevance of his teachings for our lives individually and communally; discerning together how to live like Christ and being shaped into the image of Christ. Together we will learn to be the church because Discipleship Matters.

Because injustice breaks God’s heart, justice is the order God sets in human life for fair and honest dealing and for giving rights to those who have no power to claim rights for themselves, justice is a core principle.  To act justly, love mercy and walk humbly is at the core of our calling; justice matters. The Biblical vision of doing justice calls for a) dealing honestly in personal and public business, b) exercising power for the common good, c) support people who seek the dignity, freedom and respect that they have been denied, d) working for fair laws and just administration of the law, e) welcoming the stranger in the land, f) seeking to overcome the disparity between rich and poor, g) bearing witness against political oppression and exploitation, and h) redressing wrongs against individuals, groups, and peoples in the church, in this nation and in the whole world.

Because answering God’s call to lives of simplicity, generosity, honesty, hospitality, compassion, receptivity and concern for the earth and God’s creatures is an act of stewardship, stewardship is a core principle of the community. Faithful stewardship is an act of spiritual formation and worship and as such is integral to the life of the individual and the covenant community.