Calling and Culture

calling 

Disciples living the story of Jesus.

What does this mean? Well, let’s break it down.

Disciple: A disciple is someone who trusts the promises of Jesus and seeks to follow Him. This person is a baptized believer whom Jesus has saved from sin, death, and the devil. As the Holy Spirit work in their life, they seek to follow the ways of Jesus more closely every day. This isn’t for their salvation; rather, it is a response to having been saved.

Living the Story of Jesus: We don’t just tell the story of Jesus - we live it. This means that we are constantly seeking His grace in our lives (by way of confession/absolution, the Sacraments, worship), learning what it means to follow Him in our neighborhoods (intentional discipleship), serving those in need (service events/drives), and proclaiming Jesus to the world (evangelism). We are all on this journey together and constantly learning what it means to follow Him.

Culture

Culture tells us who we are; it roots everything we do in our identity. These are Narrative’s cultural distinctives:

the gospel

Jesus is our center. The Gospel (derived from the ancient Greek word for ‘good news’) is simple. Because of sin, our relationship with God was and is broken. As sinful beings, we deserve the wrath of God. In spite of this and because of His great love for us, God sent His Son to die in our place. Jesus, the Son of God, took on all the sin of the world and defeated death (the ultimate punishment for sin) by dying and rising again from the dead. Simply put? The Gospel is Jesus for you.

Word and Sacrament Renewal

We are created to worship, and God knows that all too often our hearts are foolish. We are prone to follow after worldly idols that will not fulfill us and will, in fact, lead us toward brokenness. Because of this, God gives us gifts upon gifts. The word of God in Scripture revitalizes us. As it is preached, taught, and read, it calls and convicts us, reminding us of our need for Jesus.

As a Lutheran church, we believe that God has given us special gifts in baptism and communion (also called the Lord's Supper). They are everyday mysteries given to us from God for our benefit, and they bring us closer to Him by providing forgiveness and renewal. If you have questions about our understanding of baptism or communion, please email Pastor Ted (ted@narrative.church).

discipleship

A disciple is a person who trusts in the promises of Jesus and seeks to follow Him. As a church we seek to grow as disciples through teaching, example, and a life lived loving our neighbors. This is not done to gain favor in the eyes of God or for our salvation, but is instead learning to seek the joy of Christ in our everyday lives.

Multiplication

The Church is more of an organism than an institution; in fact, the Bible often refers to the Church as "the body of Christ." We should continue to grow and multiply by sharing the Gospel with those who need it. We also seek to see the Kingdom of God expanded through the planting of more churches.

Narrative Church is part of a network called The Harvest Partnership. The Partnership is a collection of churches that have come together around sharing resources to plant more churches.

Community on Mission

Sometimes it’s difficult to balance church with life’s other priorities. Well-meaning Christians tend to approach this problem in two different ways:

Community AND Mission: Spend time serving God, but not too much, because family and friends come first. You must keep these spheres separate.

Community OR Mission: Serve God at the expense of spending time with our family and friends. You do not have time for both.

We seek to remedy this problem by using a third approach: We are a Community ON Mission. We share the Gospel together. We serve together. When we follow the call of Jesus, we bring our kids, friends, neighbors, and anyone else who wants to come along. As disciples, we acknowledge that our lives are gifts from God, so why would we try to separate Him from our daily work?