Thursday, January 06, 2011

Who We Are

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45

Do you value values? Values are operating principles that guide our internal conduct as well as our relationship with the external world. Values also establish the boundaries of behavior for all participants within our community.

We all live by values whether we acknowledge them or not. We are all driven by governing beliefs and principles. Even Jesus was a value-driven, principled person while walking Planet Earth. At times he simply expressed them, other times like in Mark 10:45 above, he gave voice to his values.

For a year, the leadership of PCC has been seeking God and asking him what are the values that govern us and make us distinct as a called out community of followers of Jesus. It has been a labor some and exhilarating experience. What we discovered were words that describe who we are, not just what we want to be. You will be hearing much about these family values in 2012, but allow me to remind you of what I introduced on Vision Sunday in September.

We Are PCC! We are People Changing Communities. Every aspect of the many varied ministries of PCC are about life change. People Changing Communities can be explained in two simple phrases: We are people changing… as we abide in Christ and reflect his glory we are being transformed into his very likeness with his energy and character. We are changing communities…people changing change communities. Wherever we are called to inhabit, we do so as emissaries of the Kingdom of God with the hope and intention of upgrading culture. How is this done? By holding to and being governed by seven PCC family values:
  1. Being Authentic 1 Peter 2:1- Therefore rid yourselves of all hypocrisy…
  2. Giving and Receiving Grace 2 Timothy 2:1 You then…be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
  3. Practicing Healthy Relationships Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
  4. Living the Word Of God James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
  5. Sharing Jesus Christ Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
  6. Acting Socially Responsibly Matthew 25:40 ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
  7. Following the Holy Spirit Ephesians 5:18 …be filled with the Spirit

Not just any church can accomplish the mission that we at Peninsula Covenant Church have. In order to successfully achieve our mission, we must be a distinctive kind of church family. We must be driven by a distinctive set of Family Values.

In this regard, we believe that God has uniquely designed and gifted PCC to enable us to carry out our mission. This is what our Family Values are all about. They are the enduring tenets that run deep in the soul of PCC. They are the dynamic issues that give shape and definition to our ministry. They are the distinctive and defining values that allow us to achieve our mission.

As Peninsula Covenant Church, People Changing Communities is who we are and what we’re about. Our target is to change the Peninsula and the world – one person at a time! If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ and you call PCC your home, this is the vision we want you to leap into and become a part of.

Life is too short to spend it doing something irrelevant. Becoming a “big shot”, making lots of money, amassing lots of power, stockpiling lots of stuff – these are not relevant reasons for living. Changing people’s lives and their eternal destinies, people changing communities forever IS! This is the exciting privilege that God has given PCC in this little speck of earth called the San Francisco Peninsula.

I invite you to join me this Sunday as I kick off the We Are PCC series looking at the first value of being authentic. Want to come prepared? Soak in Gen 2:25- 3:11. I look forward to being with you on Sunday.