ABOUT THE FAITH COMMUNITY

The 5 Pillars of TFC

Greatest Commandment Theology - Everything we do at TFC is predicated upon the Greatest Commandment, that portion of the Gospel in which Jesus commands us to love God, our neighbors, and ourselves. It is our guiding principle; it draws our boundaries and crafts our culture. It is the cradle up to which we hold our Biblical interpretation, our social views, our relationships, our conversations, our services -- basically everything. If it harms ourselves or our people, it harms God. And it must be rejected.

The Greatest Commandment is the fountain from which flows all facets of TFC life. Instead of practicing a doctrine of vice lists containing dos and don'ts, Greatest Commandment Theology provides us with a framework of wisdom for living our lives in ways that are loving and just.

The way we love ourselves determines how we love others; how we love others demonstrates how we love God. On this hang all the laws and the prophets.

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Anti-Racism - The Faith Community is an intentionally multicultural congregation, rooted in a celebratory Black Baptist/Pentecostal (Bapticostal) worship tradition while branching out to include other modes of worship. An integral part of this inclusivity is our commitment to anti-racism.

We reject and name as sinful white supremacy. All our church’s efforts -- from worship to community service to connection groups -- seek to de-center whiteness and dismantle, in whatever ways we are able, the sins of racism and colonialism. It is not enough to “not be racist”; the world, and The Divine, require of us a stronger resistance.

Women’s Equity - Women are fully affirmed and celebrated at The Faith Community. All positions of worship and leadership are open to women, full stop.

We believe in the fundamental equality of all the genders and sexes, including trans and non-binary persons. To bar any group of people from leading and preaching is to diminish the fullness of God’s love and impoverish God’s people. We resist and name as sinful the systems of patriarchy, sexism, and misogyny.

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LGBTQ+ Affirmation - There are no tricks, no half-measures, no false promises, no crossed fingers when it comes to our welcome, affirmation, and celebration of LGBTQ+ people. We affirm the LGBTQ community in all its variations, colors, identities, and expressions.

We celebrate their beloved-ness as children of God, validate their gifts, include them in all aspects of church life, and name homophobia and transphobia as sinful.

In whatever ways we can, we beat the sword of homophobic Biblical interpretation into a plowshare of equity and inclusion. God is love is love, however and whoever expresses it.

Bible Criticism - Most churches believe in and require strict interpretations of Biblical authority. We prefer the term and the practice of Bible Criticism because if the Bible is to be taken seriously it should be examined critically.

We relate to the Bible as we would relate to ourselves, to our neighbors, and to God. We dialogue with the Bible; we view it as central, not sovereign; we do not idolize or worship the Bible. We see some of it as prescriptive, and we see other parts as descriptive.

We place ourselves within the grand story the Bible tells. Aspects of the Bible that promote Greatest Commandment ideals are embraced at TFC. Aspects of the Bible that clearly contradict Greatest Commandment ideals are unapologetically rejected.

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