Welcome! Here’s a summary of the general doctrinal beliefs of the Kingdom Outpost.
1. Jesus is King
The Kingdom of God is not simply a future reality but a present and coming reality inaugurated by Jesus at His first coming and fully established at His return. Followers of Jesus since the days of Jesus’ ministry hear the gospel of the Kingdom and are born again into this Kingdom where Christ becomes their king. The allegiance that Christians are called to means forsaking human and earthly allegiances in exchange for the Kingdom of God. Their mission is to go into all the world and preach this gospel and call men and women from the power of Satan to the Kingdom of Jesus, from darkness to light. The rule and reign of Jesus is lived out in the church as a theopolitical ecclesiology, a body and community of disciples that form, on this earth, a rival nation to the kingdoms of the earth. The values of this Kingdom reflect its King and are those of peace, servanthood, love and the laying down of one’s life rather than the exercise of dominion. To this end, Christians eschew power attained by compromise, coercion or violence. We reject the dominionist pursuit or concept of a “Christian” nation tied to earthly geo-political states and we reject the pursuit of political power, especially that which is enforced by the threat of violence.
2. A Jesus-Centered Hermeneutic
Disciples of Jesus are called, first and foremost, to follow Him and obey His words. We reject hermeneutical traditions that dismiss “simple obedience” to Jesus’s words and teachings such as described in the Sermon on the Mount or relegate them to a future age. Instead, we see the words and teachings of Jesus as not only relevant but of the utmost import for Christians today. This means that we are called to emulate Jesus in what He called us to emulate, which includes taking up our cross to follow Him, loving our enemies, and going into all the world to make disciples. With Jesus as the hermeneutical center, we thus reject violence, nationalism, oaths and divorce, believing that Jesus came and established a higher law and ethic to which observance of the Mosaic law could not attain. The Old Testament is to be interpreted as prophetic precursor and shadow to the new covenant.
3. Orthopraxy Over Orthodoxy
We believe that true disciples of Jesus will be identified primarily by their fruit, rather than by adherence to a set of doctrinal beliefs. Our lines of fellowship are therefore drawn more tightly around praxis than around specific theological positions.
4. Rejection of liberalism
Since we reject fundamentalism, Christian nationalism, abusive power structures, and violence, we will inevitably be characterized as liberal. However, we reject the postmodernism progressive vision for society. We stand for biblical truth no matter how unpopular it is within the current cultural zeitgeist, including in the following areas:
- Marriage is permanent between one man and one woman for life (Matthew 19:6).
- God designed sexual activity for within heterosexual marriage alone. (1 Corinthians 7:2).
- Primary leadership roles in the church are generally intended for men who fulfill scriptural leadership requirements (Titus 1:5-9, 1 Tim. 3:1-7, 1 Peter 5:1-4).
- Many of us come from churches that practice head-covering, interpreting 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 to mean that when a man prays or prophesies, his head is to be uncovered and when a woman prays or prophesies, her head is to be covered.
5. Mere Devotion
We promote a deeply committed, radically disciplined pursuit of the following:
- Prayer
- Scripture
- Holiness
- Community
- Care for the poor
- Great Commission
6. Nicene Creed
We affirm everything that is found in the Nicene Creed.
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.