The Dynamic Church is a spirit-filled fellowship of believers and followers of Jesus Christ who are committed to placing Him at the center of our affections and activities and to follow Him in all that we do.
A few key characteristics of our local church include:
We are the body and fullness of Christ – the dynamic church!
Our
Calling As The Dynamic Church
We
believe God’s purpose and direction for The Dynamic Church is clear. The purpose
and direction is based on revelation from the Word of God as it pertains to the
Church, and to the impact the Church is called to have in the
community. Vision is important, and we are definitely visionaries as it pertains
to building the kingdom. Vision, though, is secondary to the revelation of the
Word. There are far too many man-made visions that fail to produce fruit and
kingdom results. The Word is first, and vision must be consistent with the Word.
Called to the Church
We are called to the Church – to the body of believers – for repentance
and revival. In order for revival to happen in the community and nation there
must first be personal and corporate repentance. We can only impact others by
having first been impacted by the transforming power of the love, grace and
forgiveness of Christ. We desire holiness in all that we do – a holiness that
radiates the love of God in our homes, in our families, in our relationships and
in the marketplace. We desire to have a holy place for a holy people – a church
– where a culture of holiness pervades and resides.
Called to the Community
We are called to the community, and specifically, to the widows, the
orphans, and the downtrodden in the community. The Word (James 1:27) exhorts us
that looking after the widows and orphans is a pure and faultless form of faith.
We believe in giving out of ourselves to those who need a blessing. Giving in
this manner is, in essence, giving our way UP, as it touches the heart of God
and expands the kingdom.
Called to the Commission
We are called to the Commission – The Great Commission (Mark 16:15) -
to go into ALL the world. The world begins in our community, and thus, we must
go into ALL of our community. To reach ALL of our community for Christ, we share
the love of Christ and embrace ALL people groups…”red, yellow, black and white –
they are ALL precious in His sight.” The Commission extends beyond our community
to the world, and thus, we are called to support the worldwide missionary work
to reach all corners of the earth with the Gospel of Jesus.
“The shepherd model elevates (even boasts of!) the things of God over humans. It crucifies the flesh so that the spirit might live. It is deeply sacrificial.”
- E. Glenn Wagner, Escape From Church, Inc.“If ministry belongs to God, then God should define what ministry looks like and what the role of the pastor is to be.”
-E. Glenn Wagner, Escape From Church, Inc.
The bible clearly defines the role of a pastor as a shepherd, one who is responsible to feed, protect, and care for the needs of the sheep (God's people). This is drastically different from the today's popular Church model where, in many cases, the pastor is more of a "CEO" of the Church "organization" . Real shepherds typically do not lead a flock of sheep from the front, but rather from the middle of the flock, constantly aware the condition of the entire flock.
1st Peter 5 defines a shepherd/leader structure where the elders of the church come together to share the responsibilities of nurturing the flock and governing the church. Emphasis on a single leader is replaced with a dynamic team model, where the 5-fold ministry gifts (Eph 4:11) are actively involved in building and strengthening God's people and the focus is shifted from "church business" model to ministering to the spiritual needs of individuals.
While Elders are equal in standing, they are diverse in giftedness, biblical knowledge, leadership ability, experience, and dedication. Therefore, those among the elders who are particularly gifted leaders and/or teachers will naturally stand out among the other elders as leaders and teachers within the leadership body. This is what the Romans called primus inter pares, which means "first among equals," or primi inter pares, which means "first ones among equals."
The Dynamic Church follows the New Testament model of elder leadership as described above. A Board of Elders governs and guards the spiritual condition and environment of the church, while a Board of Trustees (consisting of elders) governs and guides the financial stewardship of the church. The characteristics and qualifications of eldership are described in 1 Timothy.
Governing Structure
But among you, those who are the greatest should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. -Luke 22:26
