CHI-RHO (A.k.a. )
A Relevant Gathering for a Diverse Culture
exists to help connect people to God. That is our reason for being. In short, we are seeking to be faithful to the commission that Christ gave the church.
-God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you.-
When it comes to doctrine, culture, preferences, traditions, lifestyles, politics, behavior, etc., we believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the guidebook by which to live and verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12, 13). Therefore our basic doctrine is that sin is the problem, Jesus is the answer, the Bible is true, and Hell is hot.
However, we do not believe in universal methods, we understand that study results in differences when it comes to secondary matters; we allow freedom for conscience and wisdom to guide where the Bible is silent; this resulting in unity, as opposed to opposition (denominationalism). We are a church which is awed by the diversity of Gods creation called Man: whether Democrats or Republicans, soccer moms or punk rockers, carnivores or vegans, coffee house hippies or blue collar workers, self aware sinners or naïve self lovers.
In essence, is in favor of good beer (in moderation), great sex (in marriage), and, heaven forbid, even tattoos. But our goal must always be love and concern for people so that we don’t enjoy our freedom at the expense of their faith (as to not make a person stumble). For we believe that Christ’s movement is for all, as is His grace.
We believe that God’s mandate is the same to all communities of the body of Christ. We trust God gives liberty and freedom for different communities to determine their own approach (under the direction of the Holy Spirit) to accomplish this task, based on the culture in which they serve. God planned it this way, because He knows that it takes all kinds of people. So, even though there is great clarity about the general objective in ministry, there is also room for significant creativity regarding the methods we use to get it done. At we seek to honor God through total service to Him, through serving His people in a relevant way. Though some of our techniques are unconventional in comparison to other communities, they are biblically sound and Spirit led.
We do not make any value judgments on the approaches of other communities, nor do we insist that what we do is better or more biblical than others. In fact, we celebrate the rich mixture of approaches, which God inspires in the hearts and minds of other committed believers who are equally devoted to creating biblically functioning communities of faith.
In this way, we are seeking to simultaneously heed the Bible’s commands to have sound doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16; Titus 1:9, 2:1), to love all the people in our community (1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 4:7-21), and to avoid unnecessary divisions (Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 1:10, 12:25; Titus 3:10). This is our way of life. This is .
