Although we have a short and clear statement on marriage we want to provide a deeper understanding of our heart behind this statement. By having such a short statement we risk being stereotyped as narrow-minded and unwelcoming. And our prayer is that we are neither.
The Church has historically held to an understanding of sexuality distinct from the surrounding culture, the application of that belief in recent history has become alienating to those whose sexual expression does not line up with the church’s. The tragedy of that shift has been that many have been made to feel alienated by the Christian church because of sexual practice and/or sexual orientation.
Because of the complexity presented by recent history, we will succinctly define both our belief and how we express our belief, which carry equal importance.
Belief: As a Christian community living together and in the world, we believe, according to our Statement of Faith, that we are made male & female in the image of God, and are called to reflect God’s image in all relationships. We all have sinned, and are in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. Without casting any judgment on one another for our failures, we will celebrate family, faithful heterosexual (one male with one female) marriage, and celibate singleness. All sexual relationships and expressions outside of marriage are sin.
How we Express Our Belief: The expression of this belief is often the more important question to people in search of a spiritual home: Will I (or one of my loved ones) be welcomed at ECC? And is there a barrier where that welcome is worn out?
Regardless of sexual practice and/or orientation, ECC welcomes all to worship with us. Jesus was uncompromising in teaching and calling people to align with his beliefs, a pathway to “life to the full.” (John 10:10) While calling people to align with him, Jesus did this in love, and showed concern and compassion for those he encountered.
The church is called the Body of Christ. We are a communal expression of Jesus’ heart, so both our beliefs and our expression of those beliefs should mirror Jesus. When it comes to sexuality, we carry three important convictions that inform our expression:
1. Our first responsibility is to be a living display of covenant love and sexuality. The church was not founded to critique the surrounding culture but to form a distinct counterculture where “life to the full” is on display as an invitation to all. Our work is not to change anyone else’s mind or critique the world outside of our family, but to live with the sort of fidelity, service, and love within our own singleness and marriage covenants that we become a living witness to the fullest sort of life.
2. We lead with a heart of love and compassion for people. The doors and the arms of our church family are open to anyone, regardless of belief. No one will ever be excluded from worshiping with us on Sundays because their beliefs don’t line up with ours.
3. We must differentiate between agreement and acceptance. One of the truly fascinating aspects of the life of Jesus is that the very people whose lives least aligned with his ethical teachings were most drawn to him. His dinner company and close friends are made up of people out-of-alignment with his teaching. In modern cultural rhetoric, agreement and acceptance are often used synonymously: “If you don’t agree with my ethical choices (belief), you don’t accept me (expression).” However, in Jesus, we observe the opposite phenomenon: Those who felt most accepted in his presence were those most obviously living in disagreement with his teaching. Therefore, as a community we are committed to becoming a community linked to Jesus in both agreement and acceptance. We are unapologetically aligned with every word of his teaching. Equally, we are uncompromisingly insistent on becoming the sort of community where those out-of-alignment with his beliefs (including sexuality) feel welcome and accepted in our fellowship.