JOINING THE CHURCH
Joining South Memorial is not a complicated process. A person may identify this
as his or her local church home at any time. This can be done by simply calling
the church office to set up a meeting with the Senior Pastor to communicate your
desire. We believe that when a person accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
he or she is made a member of God's one and only Church. In other words, the
only way to become a member of the Church is by spiritual rebirth into a new
family. That family is God's family, the Church
STATEMENT OF BELIEF
1. The Bible is the inspired Word of God, and is the final authority for
faith in Jesus Christ. Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting
and training in righteousness, so that God's people can be thoroughly equipped
for doing God's work. (See II Timothy 3:15-17)
2. God exists eternally in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit. He is the creator of the entire universe; He has revealed
Himself to be perfect in love and holiness; and He is just and righteous in all
of His ways. (See Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; Genesis 1:1; John 1:3; I John 4:16;
Leviticus 11:44-45; I Peter 1:15-16; Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 99:4)
3. Jesus Christ is God's eternal Son. Born of the virgin Mary, He took the form
of a man and was fully human and divine at one and the same time. Through His
sinless life He taught all humanity how to live right with God and with one
another. He was crucified on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
On the third day after His crucifixion, He was resurrected from the dead, just
as the Scriptures state. He returned to heaven to make intercession for us, and
to prepare an eternal home for all of God's faithful people. He will come again
to receive unto Himself all who believe in Him as Lord and Savior and to take
them to their eternal and heavenly home. (See
Luke 1:26-38; Philippians 2:5-7; Hebrews 4:15; I Corinthians 15:3-8; Luke
24:50-51; Hebrews 7:25; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:1-11; I Thessalonians 4:13-18)
4. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts us of sin, and compels us to repent
and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Spirit lives in us and
instructs us in the grace and knowledge of Christ. The Spirit is the one who
empowers us, by His indwelling presence, to be Christ's faithful witnesses in
the world, and to live a holy life of obedient discipleship. (See John
14:15-17; 25-26; 15:26-27 16:4-15; Acts 1:8; 15:8-9)
5. Human beings of both genders, and all races are created in God's image.
Humanity was tempted by the devil to sin and rebel against God. Through
repentance and personal faith in Jesus Christ we are forgiven of our sins and
reborn into a new relationship with God. That is, we are reconciled to God and
placed into the Body of Christ. (See Genesis 1:26-27; 3:1-13; I John 1:9; Titus
3:4-7; Ephesians 2)
6. The Church is the living
Body of Christ on earth. It has been given its mission and ministry by Jesus
Christ, who is the head of the Church. Division in the Body of Christ is
displeasing to God who wants His faithful people to be united. The Church is
composed of all persons who have trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior,
and by doing so experience the new birth that God promises to all who believe in
Him. This is the only means by which a person can become a member of the Church
of God. (See I Corinthians 12:12-27; Matthew
28:18-20; Colossians 1:18; John 17:20-23; Ephesians 4:3-5; Revelation 7:9-17;
John 1:12-13; 3:1-5, 16-18)
7. The Kingdom of God is a present reality in the world. Its citizens are all
those who willingly submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and who live in
obedience to the rule and reign of God. God's Kingdom will endure for all
eternity. (See Luke 12:32; 17:20-21; John 3:5; Romans 14:17-18; Colossians
1:13; Psalm 145:13)
The Church of God
has always sought to speak prophetically to the major moral and social issues
that are confronting our culture. By choosing to do this, we follow the
admonition of the Apostle Paul when he says that we should
"...speak the truth in love..." (Ephesians 4:15).
We do not claim a perfect knowledge of all truth, yet, we do not hesitate in
speaking the truth that God is continually leading us to understand. The
following statements are stances we believe the Spirit of truth has led us to
take on some of the most significant moral and social issues confronting modern
culture.
These social and moral issue statements are in accord with the social issues
resolutions and statements that have been adopted by the General Assembly of the
Church of God (see Thinking and Acting Together, compiled and edited by
Dr. Barry L. Callen, as well as the General Assembly Annual Reports). It is our
hope that they will enhance each person's understanding of the historic stances
of the Church of God Reformation Movement on these issues.
Abortion on Demand
Perhaps the most divisive issue to confront our society in the last three
decades has been abortion. We recognize that there are many complicated issues
surrounding this debate, and we believe that the welfare of the mother takes
priority over the life of the child. However, as Christians we acknowledge that
God is the giver of all life, and that we are not given the freedom to wantonly
take another life, including that of an unborn child. We affirm that the fetus
is a human child created in the image of God. Therefore, we take a pro-life
stance on this issue. (See Psalm 139:13; Jeremiah 1:4-5)
We recognize that there are many young women who have had abortions, and we do
not sit in judgment or condemnation of them. Instead, we offer the healing
grace of God's love and forgiveness. We call them to accept restoring counsel,
and to dedicate themselves to promoting life. We will offer God's forgiving
love and care to any girl or woman who finds herself caught in a crisis
pregnancy and reaches out to God's people for help, and we will support
community ministries that seek to aid them.
Abuse of Illicit Drugs
Without a doubt, drug abuse has
ripped the heart and soul out of our nation. Untold teenagers have squandered
God's gifts through their use, and our prisons are full of those convicted
of drug-related crimes. We have paid dearly for our love affair with drugs.
Therefore, we dedicate ourselves to be a part of the solution for removing this
plague from our nation.
Alcohol and Tobacco Products Use
The Church of God comes from a tradition of faith that has deep roots in the
pietistic holiness movement that swept our nation in the late 19th and early
20th centuries. As a result, we have always placed great emphasis on living
disciplined lives of holy character. Historically we have stressed abstinence
in the use of alcohol and tobacco products. We believe that the best way to
honor God and set a Christian example in our community is to avoid the use of
these products.
First, alcohol and tobacco products are addictive, and it is inappropriate for
Christians to be controlled by anything other than Christ. Second, the use of
these products cause tremendous personal health risks, and because our bodies
are the temple of the Holy Spirit we should avoid the use of them, as well as
all other practices that do harm to the body. (See I Cor. 6:19) Third, the use
of these products has tremendous social costs. Our nation pays an incredible
bill in health care costs, addiction counseling, and deaths from the abuse of
alcohol and tobacco.
Therefore, we reaffirm our historic stance of admonishing God's people to
abstain from the use of alcohol and tobacco products. We also affirm our desire
to show compassion to all persons addicted to these substances, and will
encourage them to seek counsel and prayer to find freedom in Christ from their
addiction.
Christian grace compels us to recognize
that there are other believers who come from faith traditions that do not agree
with our historic understanding of this issue. In Christian love, we will never
seek to de-Christianize these persons. However, we believe that the conclusions
we have reached on this issue have been guided by the Spirit of wisdom and a
desire to live holy and pure lives before God. We fellowship with persons who
hold a different view than we do, but we prohibit them from holding positions of
authority and leadership within our local fellowship, as this would only cause
hurt for them and conflict in the larger fellowship.
Domestic Violence
One of the sad realities of life in modern society is the rise of domestic
violence in the homes of our nation. As a community of faith we want it to be
understood that we are opposed to all forms of abuse and violence that are
taking place in the families of our community and nation. We acknowledge that
there are many factors that contribute to the abuse of a child, a spouse, or a
parent. However, such behavior is never appropriate. Therefore, we will use
our collective voice to speak out against domestic violence, and work to bring
an end to its practice in society. We are a community of grace that seeks to
bring healing and peace where there is brokenness and conflict, and we will work
for family restoration where it is possible. (See Ephesians 6:1-4; I Peter 3:7)
Gambling
God has told us to avoid the love of money and the desire for riches,
especially those which are quickly or illegally obtained. Gambling appeals to
the worst in human persons, because greed leads us to squander our resources on
that which is vain and trivial. Americans spent around 400 billion dollars on
gambling in 1995. Think of the good that could have been accomplished for
humanity with that amount of money. Therefore, we encourage all of our
congregants to be good stewards of the money that God has entrusted to them. We
also discourage participation in the practice of gambling, including gambling
sponsored by our state government (which is nothing more than a subtle form of
taxation). (See I Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19)
Gratuitous Use of
Violence in the production of movies, television programs, and games
Such graphic violence is inappropriate for a civil society and can only
result in desensitizing society to the violent behavior all around us. We do
not bury our heads in the sand of indifference and pretend that violence is not
prevalent in our culture, but rather, we call all people to follow a more noble
and peaceful vision of our life together as a community and nation. Therefore,
we admonish our congregants to set appropriate boundaries on the viewing of
such violent material within their lives and the lives of their families.
Human Sexuality
We believe that God created human beings as male and female, and gave them
the desire to have sexual union with one another. Human sexuality, in and of
itself, is not evil. It is a gift of God, but one which God has placed certain
boundaries upon. (See Genesis 2:21-25) The first boundary is that all human
sexual intercourse is to take place within the context of marriage. Human
sexual intercourse should be an act of mutual consent within the love and
commitment of holy matrimony. (See Hebrews 13:4) We affirm the sanctity of the
institution of marriage and admonish all persons to remain chaste until they
have entered the covenant of marriage before God.
Persons who have
entered the covenant of marriage are admonished to remain faithful to their
spouses, and never to engage in sexual intercourse with any other person.
Therefore, we believe that all human sexual intercourse prior to marriage, or
with any person other than your husband or wife, is forbidden by Scripture.
(See I Corinthians 6:12-20; I Thessalonians
4:3-8)
The second boundary is that only heterosexual intercourse is permitted. We do
not recognize homosexual/lesbian relationships as a legitimate or a
Christ-honoring alternative. We believe that the homosexual/lesbian life style
goes against the admonition of Scripture, and is destructive to a well ordered
family and social life. God offers His forgiving and restoring grace to those
who practice the homosexual/lesbian life. God does not make homosexual/lesbian
sin a greater offense than heterosexual sin. God opposes all forms of sexual
immorality, and calls His people to live by a higher ethical standard than the
unbelieving world in regards to their sexuality. (See Romans 1:18-32; Ephesians
5:3)
In all situations where a person has violated the teaching of Scripture in
regard to human sexuality, we will show Christian grace and mercy. We will
strive, with God's grace and help, to bring or restore that person to faith in,
and obedience to, Christ and the teaching of Scripture, and to do so with
gentleness and respect. (See John 8:1-11; Galatians 6:1-2)
Physician Assisted Suicide
and Euthanasia
The issue of physician assisted suicide and euthanasia are now coming to the
forefront of national debate. We proactively and prophetically state that we
believe that death should be left in the hands of God, and God alone. We
support any person who rejects the unnatural use of biomedical technology to
unduly prolong life and suffering. However, we reject the right of any
physician to assist a patient in the taking of their own life, or the
intentional taking of a life which some individual or group has determined is no
longer beneficial to society.
Pornographic Materials
The production of pornographic materials is an offense against God and
humanity. We believe that it exploits women and children especially. We oppose
its production in all of its forms and will work to prohibit its distribution in
our community. We acknowledge that the use of pornography has become widely
accepted in our society, and that there are free-speech issues involved.
However, as Christians, we must speak out against any material that demeans
human persons and presents them as objects of lust and sexual gratification.
(See Matthew 5:27-30)
Racism
The Church of God has always been a
multi-racial Christian unity movement. We believe that all human persons,
regardless of their ethnicity, have been created in the image of God. We
believe that Jesus died for the entire human race, and that faith in Christ
demands our love for all the ethnic groups that make up the human race.
Therefore, we denounce racism in all of its forms, because it is inconsistent
with Christian discipleship and holy living. God does not discriminate in the
giving of His grace and love, and neither can the people of His name. (See Acts
2:17-18; Galatians 3:26-29)
Women in Ministry
One of the major debates in many church bodies is the role and place of
women in ministry. The Church of God has from its inception recognized that God
gifts and calls persons of the female gender just as surely as He does those of
the male gender. From the beginning, we have ordained women into the ministry
of the Gospel and have welcomed their participation in the leadership of the
local church. In doing so, we fully recognize that men and women are unique
from each other in many physiological and psychological ways. However, in
Christ, there is neither male nor female. In other words, spiritually we are
one in Christ. We all stand equal before His cross and throne. (see Acts
2:17-18; Galatians 3:26-29).