This Leadership Agreement applies to all Pastors, Deacons, Elders, paid staff, and certain volunteer positions. Volunteer positions would include department leaders, and the lead classroom teachers. Please contact your supervisor if you have questions about whether or not this policy applies to you.
Purpose
That the leaders of Colonial Baptist Church are above reproach so that people will see, hear and respond to our leadership in directing them toward the grace of Jesus Christ and to encourage our leaders to pursue a careful, exemplary Christian lifestyle that encourages other believers and strengthens the church.
Participants
This agreement is for all individuals in regular teaching positions or pastoral care positions, all paid staff, elders, deacons and other ministry leadership positions at Colonial Baptist Church.
Specific Agreements
•I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.
•I am a member (or actively pursuing membership) at Colonial Baptist Church.
•I believe and adhere to the Statement of Faith (doctrinal position) of Colonial Baptist Church and agree to serve in cooperation with all policies established by the church.
•I do not participate in expressing the sign gifts (tongues, prophecy, etc.) or encourage others to do so (1 Corinthians 12:13, 12:31, 13:8, 14:2, 14:19, 14:22).
•I support Colonial with my time, money and loyalty.
•I seek to live a dedicated Christian life according to the standards of God's Word, and I purpose to put sin out of my life so that my influence to others might be encouraging and not a hindrance (Romans 14; I Timothy 3; Titus 2).
•I am committed to unity, church teamwork and biblical respect for church leadership (Philippians 2:1-4; Hebrews 13:7, 17).
•I recognize, accept, pursue and hold in highest regard the biblical instruction concerning God-honoring marriage and family relationships (Ephesians 5:22- 6:4; Colossians 3:18-24; I Peter 3:1-7). My spouse fully supports my leadership involvement and affirms the guidelines in this agreement.
•I am careful when exercising freedom, even in areas of Christian liberty or where the Bible is silent, so as to encourage others in the Christian life and not be a "stumbling block" (1 Corinthians 8).
The Biblical Principle Of Influence
Because of our individual and community responsibilities, we need a mutual commitment within the body to certain standards of behavior that we may effectively accomplish the church's purpose (Philippians 3:15-17). Although certain practices and attitudes are clearly prohibited in Scripture, others are simply matters of taste and discretion (Romans 14:1-6). We recognize the problems of Christian liberty, especially in areas which may not, of themselves, be either good or bad. Even committed Christians may disagree in these areas.
We want to focus on the positive. Our message is Christ, the cross and what is clear in Scripture. We do believe spiritual leaders should show extra care because of their influence on others. We ask that those in leadership and influential positions be obedient to the Lord and growing in maturity. Then, even in areas of debate or Christian liberty, we ask leaders to live with Paul's attitude of concern to build up and not hurt others (Romans 14:19, 20).
Our leaders abstain from the use of tobacco, illegal drugs and alcoholic beverages. We guard our physical bodies as God's temple, and we avoid connection with habits that are inappropriate for people in leadership in our church. Our leaders also live within their means and practice financial integrity.
In other areas of choice such as music or entertainment, eating habits, movies, television or reading material, our leaders exercise careful Christian discretion. Our choices again are guided by these principles: they are done in faith (Romans 14:22, 23), with clear conscience (Acts 24: 16), for the glory of God (I Corinthians 10:31), and to build up and not offend others (Romans 14:21). In areas of possible question not covered here, our leaders conform to the direction of the elder/pastoral leadership.
Observing this agreement does not comprise the whole of our responsibility to God. We appreciate each leader's willingness to follow these guidelines because of the maturity and spiritual concern it shows for the whole Christian community.
There are several guiding principles under grace for deciding between right and wrong.
1.The Principle of Love. Though convinced that I have liberty to do something, nevertheless, out of love for the weaker brother, I will limit my freedom when necessary to avoid being a stumbling block (Rom. 14:15; 1 Cor. 8:1-13). If my actions may cause a believer to stumble by influencing him or her to follow my example, the question is, "Do I really have liberty to follow my own conviction regarding the doubtful thing?" The answer is an emphatic no! Listen to the warning of the following passage: Romans 14:15-20 - "For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense."
2.The Principles of Profitability and Edification. While all things that are not specifically forbidden by Scripture, particularly the New Testament, are lawful to me as a believer, the question I must ask is, "Is it profitable to my spiritual life, to God's goals for me, to my health, to my testimony to the lost and my life as an example to other believers?" The Apostle wrote, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable" (1 Corinthians 6:12). Again in 1 Corinthians 10:23, Paul wrote, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify."
3.The Principle of Enslavement, of Who and What Is in Control. The answer to this question becomes a determining factor as to whether we really should or should not do the thing in question. Paul succinctly stated it this way, "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered (brought under the control of) by anything" (1 Corinthians 6:12b). Believers are to walk under the control of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18; Gal. 5:16). By means of the Spirit, they are to have control over all aspects of their lives rather than be under the control of what we might call lifedominating patterns. The body is a wonderful slave and God's instrument of service, but it is a poor master. The questions we must ask is, "Will it enslave me? Is it something that is known to be habit forming or addictive so that it could enslave me?" This does not automatically exclude something and anything can become a habit that controls me, but this principle does pose a warning.
4.The Principle of the Temple. The New Testament teaches us that the body is the temple, the very dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and should be cared for accordingly (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The body is an instrument used by the Spirit of God, a vehicle of service by which we can glorify God. A weak body becomes a weak instrument, so we need to care for it and protect it. This means proper rest, diet, exercise and the elimination of those habits which are unhealthy and harmful.
5.The Principle of Exaltation. Here we must ask the question, "Will it glorify or exalt the Lord and His glory?" In a context dealing with doubtful issues, we are told to act on this principle, "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).
6.The Principle of Constraint, of Living as an Example in Supreme Self-Sacrifice. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 - "For the love of Christ controls us (compels, constrains), having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf (emphasis mine)." Christ, our supreme model, said, "For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). This means the need for sacrifice whenever and wherever, or one forfeits the right of leadership (cf. 1 Cor. 9:1- 23; 2 Thess. 3:7, 9; 1 Tim. 4:12; Heb. 13:7; Tit. 2:7).
We realize that our doctrinal statement is lengthy and detailed. There may be positions stated here where a person may not know what he/she believes or may need more information. This statement does two things. First, it defines for you what our pastors, elders and deacons believe. Second, it clarifies for you what may be taught regarding these topics. So, even if you have not yet developed your own convictions on some of the secondary issues presented here, you may not promote views which disagree with these.
The Scriptures
We believe that the Bible as originally written was verbally and plenarily inspired, is the product of spirit-controlled men, and, therefore, is truth without any mixture of error. We believe the Bible to be the center of true Christian unity and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions shall be tried. (II Timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:19, 20, 21)
The Triune God
We believe there is one and only one living and true God,the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. (Exodus 20:2, 3; I Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 4:11)
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, having not been created, but being the Second Person of the Trinity, came into this world as foretold in the Scriptures to manifest God to mankind and to be the Redeemer of the sinful world. He took upon Himself human flesh and a sinless human nature through the supernatural conception by the Holy Spirit in a virgin, Mary. Jesus was both fully God and fully man, and His earthly life sometimes functioned in the realm of the humanly and at other times in the realm of the divine. He came to die for the sin of the world - the just for the unjust. Jesus Christ alone is the full and complete propitiation for sin - the full satisfaction of the Father's justice regarding sin. He rose from the dead, according to the Scriptures, retaining the same body, though glorified; His bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven, where He now serves as the High Priest for the redeemed of God and head over the church, gives proof to the fact that His sacrificial death was fully acceptable to the Father for sin. (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; 53:1ff; Micah 5:2; Luke 1:30-35; 24:34-39; John 1:1-2; 20:20; Acts 2:22- 6; Rom. 3:25-26; Heb. 1:3; 2:17; 4:14-15; 7:25; 10:1-14)
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine person, equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature; that He was active in the creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one until God's purpose is fulfilled. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment; that He bears witness to the truth of the gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the new birth; that He seals, bestows gifts, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies and helps the believer. (Genesis 1:1-3; Matthew 28:19; John 14:16, 17, 26; 16:8-11; Hebrews 9:14) We believe that certain gifts of the Spirit are temporary, providing the foundation for the New Testament church and are not active today. These gifts were revelatory in nature - word of knowledge, tongues, interpretation - and were critical for a church that was without the written New Testament. Other foundational gifts were used to confirm and validate the ministry of the Apostles, such as healing, raising from the dead, as the authentic founders of the church. (Hebrews 2:1- 4; Acts 2:22; Mark 16:14-18; Matthew 10:8; I Cor. 13:8)
The Devil
We believe in the personality of Satan; that he is the unholy god of this age and the ruler of all the powers of darkness and is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire. (Matthew 4:1-11; Revelation 20:10)
Creation
We believe the Genesis account of creation as being neither allegory nor myth but a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate, creative acts of God over six literal days without any evolutionary process; that man - spirit, soul and body - was created by a direct work of God and not from previously existing forms of life; and that all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race. (Genesis 1-2; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16, 17)
The Fall of Man
We believe that man was created in innocence under the laws of his Maker; but, by voluntary transgression, Adam fell from his sinless and happy estate; all men sinned in him, in consequence of which, all men are totally depraved, are partakers of Adam's fallen nature and are sinners by nature and by conduct, and, therefore, are under just condemnation without defense or excuse. (Genesis 3:1-6, 24; Romans 1:18-32, 3:10-19, 5:12, 19)
Grace and the New Creation
We believe that, in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about by our sovereign God in a manner above our comprehension, solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith and newness of life. (John 3:3; 3:6, 7; Acts 16:30-33; Romans 6:23; II Cor. 5:17; Ephesians 2:1, 5; II Peter 1:4; I John 5:1)
Justification
We believe that justification is the judicial act of God, whereby He declares us to be righteous through faith in Christ Jesus; that justification includes the pardon of sin and the imputation of God's righteousness; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer. (Isaiah 53:11; Zechariah 13:1; Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1, 9; 8:1; II Corinthians 5:18-21)
Repentance
We believe that repentance is a change of mind and purpose toward God prompted by the Holy Spirit. Sin is ruinous to the soul and that true repentance is inseparably related to true faith.(Luke 13:1-3; 15:7, Romans 2:4)
Faith and Salvation
We believe that faith alone in Jesus Christ is the only condition for salvation. (Acts 16:31)
Sanctification
We believe that sanctification is the divine setting apart of the believer unto God accomplished in a threefold manner: first, an eternal act of God, based upon redemption in Christ, establishing the believer in a position of holiness at the moment he trusts the Savior; second, a continuing process in the saint as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to the life; third, the final accomplishment of this process at the Lord's return. (John 17:17; I Corinthians 1:30; II Cor. 3:18; Ephesians 5:25, 26; I Thessalonians 4:3, 4; Hebrews 3:1)
Adoption
We believe that adoption is the gracious act whereby the Father, for the sake of Christ, places new believers into the honored position of mature sons - in contrast with regeneration whereby the believer receives the nature of God and becomes a child of God. The full benefit of the position accorded by adoption as the sons of God awaits the glorification of the believer at the coming of the Lord. (Galatians 4:1-7; Eph. 1:5, 13, 14; I John 3:1, 2)
Eternal Security
We believe that all who are truly born again are kept secure by God the Father for Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
The Church
We believe in the unity of all true believers in the church, which is the body of Christ and was established on the Day of Pentecost, and that all believers, from Pentecost to the Rapture, both Jews and Gentiles, are added to this church by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:41, 42; I Corinthians 11:2, 12:12, 13; Eph. 3:1-6) We believe that this church is manifested through the local church which is a congregation of baptized believers associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word; and that its officers are pastors and deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the Scripture. We believe the true mission of the church is the faithful witnessing of Christ to all as we have opportunity. We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self government free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; that the one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit; that it is scriptural for biblical churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the gospel. Each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; and that on all matters of membership, polity, government, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final. (Acts 15:13-18; 20:17- 28; I Tim. 3:1-7; Eph. 1:22, 23, 4:11, 5:23, 24; Col. 1:18)
Ordinances
We believe that biblical baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, under the authority of the local church, to show in the crucified, buried and risen Savior, through Whom we died to sin and rose to a new life; that baptism is a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership. We believe that the Lord's Supper is the commemoration of His death until He comes and should be preceded always by solemn self-examination. The elements themselves represent the body and blood of the Savior in symbol only. There is neither common nor efficacious grace extended to the recipient of these ordinances. (Matthew 3:16, 28:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-24, 8:36, 38, 39; Romans 6:3-6; I Cor. 11:23-28; Colossians 2:12)
Separation
We believe in obedience to the biblical commands to separate entirely from worldliness and ecclesiastical apostasy unto God. (II Corinthians 6:14-7:1)
Civil Government
We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed, except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the only Lord of the conscience and the coming King of Kings. (Exodus 18:21, 22; II Samuel 23:3; Acts 23:5; Romans 13:17)
Israel
We believe in the sovereign selection of Israel as God's eternal covenant people. Israel is now dispersed because of her disobedience and rejection of Christ; and that she will be regathered in the Holy Land. After the completion of the church, Israel will be saved as a nation at the second advent of Christ. (Genesis 13:14-17; Ezekiel 37; Romans 11:1-32)
The Rapture and Subsequent Events
We believe in the imminent, pretribulational, premillennial return of Christ for His church; and that at that moment the dead in Christ shall be raised in glorified bodies, and the living in Christ shall be given glorified bodies without tasting death; and all shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air before the tribulation, the seventieth week of Daniel. (Daniel 9:25-27; Matthew 24:29-31; Revelation 20:1-4, 6)
The Righteous and the Wicked
We believe there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked. Only those who are justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Spirit of our God are truly righteous in His esteem; while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse; and this distinction holds among men both in and after death, in the everlasting joy in heaven for the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost in the lake of fire. (Genesis 18:23; Malachi 3:18; John 8:21; Romans 6:17, 18, 23, 7:6; I John 5:19)
