Vision
Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ is the Head of His church. We apply this truth in two practical ways. First, our church is a “theocracy” in contrast to a “democracy.” The Lord Jesus Christ has the only vote and voice. Second, when making decisions, the leaders of this church are “discerners” not “deciders.” We work together to discern the decision our Head has for us.
Often, prayer is a monologue; we talk to God. Yet Scriptures teach prayer is to be a dialogue, where we talk with God. Following the one instance where Jesus teaches us how to pray (Matthew 6, Luke 11), we heed these instructions and learn to communicate with the Lord.
We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We do love Him for all He does for us (an extrinsic love that rises from things external to us), and this is appropriate. But we are to learn to love Him intrinsically, “As the deer longs for streams of water,” with an inherent, internal, insatiable need. As we learn to relate to our Father and receive His parental affection and customized care, our love and responses will become more intrinsic.
We are committed to teaching our children to live in the daily presence of God. We believe God wants them to not only know the truth of His faithful presence in their lives, but also to experience it. Through our day-to-day examples and Spirit-led teaching, we will help them learn to recognize His voice and deeply grasp how He feels about them, Who He is, and all He can— and wants—to do for them.
The Lord Jesus Christ was born as a Jew; He therefore rules over a “Hebrew” kingdom. We must learn His Hebrew mindset, which conflicts with our culture’s “Western” mindset. Of the many clear differences between the two mindsets, perhaps the most startling difference is in the thought processes.
A person with a Western mindset says, “Let me see what I think and feel. If this does not make sense to me or if I think differently, or if I am confused, or if I simply don’t ‘feel right,’ then I cannot follow or go in a direction that I don’t understand.” One with a Hebrew mindset says, “God’s thoughts and ways are not mine; He is the creator and I am the creature. Therefore I will often not completely understand the thoughts or ways of my Hebrew King; I may be confused and many times I will not feel ‘right’ with what and where He seems to be leading me. But if I know He is leading, then I will follow.”
As Scripture teaches, all members of the body of Christ have been given gifts by the Holy Spirit and have ways they can make essential contributions in the Kingdom of God that have eternal significance. At CrossLand we are charged with helping our family members discover their vision, provide training if necessary, and release them to pursue with God that which He has called and gifted them to do.