Core Values
the Real Simply, to be authentic before God and others. (Romans 9, I Samuel 16:7, Psalm 139)
the True Truth for us is summed up in Jesus Christ and His story that has been accurately revealed to us in scripture. When we refer to Truth, we are not talking about a set of propositions, but a Person. In a Person, then, Truth is not simply reasoned, or evidenced, but is Someone experienced. (John 14:6, John 8:31-32, II Timothy 2:15)
the Communal At UBC we strive to embody an authentic Christian community. For us, the dependence on a community of faith is a primary means of spiritual growth in our understanding of relationship with God. So, in community we are not talking about a place where people are encouraged to posture holiness, nor are we talking about a people who simply strive to disengage from life into some super-spiritual anomaly. We are not talking about a place that breeds a strong division between the secular and the sacred. Instead, what we Are talking about is a people who engage into the whole of life together, a place where the Authentic person can find freedom in expression, where we strive to encourage honesty, trust, and responsibility through accountability, where avenues exist for questioning to take place. Community for us is a people who can be authentic with who we are and who we hope to be. (Ephesians 4:25, Romans 12, I Corinthians 11, 12)
the Historical In striving after the establishment of Gods reign, we will not be blindly arrogant about our purpose and place as a local church body at this juncture in history. Instead, we will look to and learn from the pitfalls and insights of the Church that has gone before us that we might find ourselves firmly established in an historical Christian community. The saints and traditions of the past give us direction and vision for the future. (Proverbs 1, I Corinthians 3:18-23, Ecclesiastes 1-3)
the Experiential In today's culture, people will hold as Truth for themselves whatever they personally experience. So, at UBC, we have redefined our culture's understanding of experience with a more biblical perspective in that a balanced experience of God actually finds itself rooted in community and engaging the whole person - mind, body, heart, senses, and soul - yet shielding itself from straying into emotionalism or intellectualism. By balanced we mean that God has given us the opportunity to experience Him on several levels, and when we find ourselves operating on one single level, then possible pitfalls might incur. We experience God with others (via community), with mind (via thinking critically), with heart (via our pathos), with body (via service), and with senses (via fragrances, art, creation). (I Corinthians 14:29, I Thessalonians 5:21-23, Matthew 22:37-39)