The Word, Prayer, and Mediation
- Scripture — Our lives are built on the Word of God. It is our food and primary means of revelation from Him. We spend time each day in Scripture, seeking God’s face, dwelling in His presence and praying out of His Word.
- Silence & Solitude — We seek to build silence and solitude into our daily routines. Time alone with God each day allows us to better hear His voice.
- Daily Office — Nothing is to be preferred to the work of God (Rule of St. Benedict). We pause to be with God two to three times a day to remember Him, spending time in communion with Him, preferably with Scripture, silence, meditation and prayer – even if this is only for a few minutes. Many of us find that the Church of England’s Daily Office (online and app) is a helpful tool. [INSERT LINK]
- Study — We are continually growing and taking steps to keep learning about Jesus, as well as our unique values: emotional health, practicing the Six Principles of Spiritual Living in all areas of our lives, humbly seeking counsel and providing counsel, and reconciliation.
Rest and Recreation
- Sabbath — Each week, we set aside a 24-hour period to keep Sabbath to the Lord, structuring our time around the following characteristics of biblical Sabbaths – Stop, Rest, and Worship. We trust God to build His church while we respect Sabbath-keeping as an essential formation discipline in our lives.
- Simplicity — We model percentage giving (using the tithe as a guideline) in giving to God’s work at Good Shepherd. We manage our material resources in a manner that honors God and avoids the traps and enticements of a materialistic culture (e.g. bad debt, gambling, etc.) as we live out the basic principles of planning, giving, saving, budgeting, and balancing a spending plan.
- Play & Recreation — We have a life outside of our community for balance and health. We build healthy “fun” into our discipleship and take vacations each year to allow our lives to be replenished and refreshed.
Work and Service
- Service & Mission — Our primary means to serve Christ is being present for others, within and without our community, by steadfastly attending and participating in Sunday service and small group activities, by sharing the way of life we practice with others, by volunteering for and fulfilling service commitments, by sponsoring and being sponsored.
- Healing — We are committed to the work of healing, both of ourselves and of others. The work of healing is an ongoing journey.
- Working with Others — For own spiritual health we must work with and help others; we recognize this as vital to our spiritual health. Unless we continue to enlarge our spiritual life through this service we will backslide. Experience has been our surest and severest teacher in this matter.
Relationships
- Mental & Emotional Health — We are committed to a spiritual formation model that embraces our whole person, including the emotional component of who we are as image bearers of God. In all our relationships we seek to speak clearly, directly, respectfully and honestly. We aim to incarnate like Christ and listen well. We must remain accountable in general, and specifically to our sponsors/mentors.
- Family — We believe in the equal value of God’s call to both singleness and marriage. We affirm with Scripture the gift of singleness for leadership (1 Corinthians 7:25-40). Both Jesus and Paul were single. At the same time, we understand the limits and great potentials of the marriage covenant for our work and our personal choices. We desire high-quality marriages, out of which we are able to minister to others. If we are married, our spouses make their own choices and have their own needs and desires apart from us. We affirm this. Our expectation is for honesty and transparency regarding our marriages and family life with those whom God has placed in authority over us.
- Ongoing Contact & Support — We commit to staying in touch with fellow members in the same spirit of the church described in Acts.