BCC's Core Values

Here are the church's Core Values:

WE VALUE THE POTENTIAL OF PEOPLE.
"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst." 1 Tim. 1:15

WE VALUE THE PRIORITY OF SERVICE.
"For even I, the Messiah, am not here to be served, but to help others, and to give my life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45

WE VALUE THE PERSUASIVENESS OF QUALITY.
"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matt. 5:16

WE VALUE THE POWER OF HOPE.
"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Rom. 5:5

Our 3 Commitments
To love all, serve all, and give all hope.

Our Vision
The relational, resourceful, and relentless pursuit of helping people find God, follow Christ and be free to dream.

I promised not to talk smack at the Faith Statement, but I do want to comment on a few things here.

First of all, this is not too shabby a statement for a church with no denominational line to tow (or is "toe"? I can never remember). It seems like it doesn't say that much, but it actually covers quite a bit of the "basic stuff." (Outsiders looking in and wondering exactly how we do this stuff ecclesiologically should know that BCC is pretty much baptistic in its praxis.)

Secondly, while I think valuing the potential of people is nice (in terms of people's gifts and talents, etc.), as a core value it seems to fumble the initial handoff of the Gospel message. In fact, the very verse provided as support for valuing the potential of people crosscuts that potential. Really, we value the potential salvation of people.
It's not the value I'm agin' in this instance; it's just the semantics, I think.

I could quibble with the idea that letting our light shine before men relates to "quality presentation" (of the music? that sort of thing?), but I won't. Our church is fantastic at serving the Bellevue community and Nashville at large. Habitat for Humanity, Angel Tree, the homeless mission, the CareGivers ministry, the only place close for A.A. to meet, Divorce Care, counseling -- you name it. BCC gets quality service.

The only other thing I'd point out is how often the words "hope" and "follow Christ" appear here and in the other idealogical statements. We have an opporunity here, even though we obviously cannot avoid conflict, to put these foundational ideas in action. We can -- and must! -- hope that God is working something extraordinary of His will in and out of this mess. We must agree that following Jesus is the right path for both sides and anybody in between to take.

Peace.