“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8)
As a church, River Oaks: Clover Hill has several commitments that shape the distinctive nature of our church. I’ve been highlighting them in my sermons, we’ve had posts about them before on this blog (HERE), and you can find them on our website (HERE).
Over the last 6 months or so, the elders of Clover Hill spent time thinking and praying together through what we now call our “Clover Hill Commitments”. We thought through the “DNA” that we inherited from our sending church, River Oaks, and tried to take the unique focus and emphases of our church and put them into words. We came up with 6 commitments, but we knew something was missing. We needed one more.
And now we have it!
As a reminder, these are our Clover Hill Commitments (all framed as both/and’s to be held together, not either/or’s to be pitted against each other):
Theology & Doxology
Gospel Doctrine & Gospel Culture
God’s Sovereignty & Our Responsibility
Urgency & Legacy
Neighbors & Nations
Word & Deed
And our seventh and final commitment: Timeless & Timely
Timeless & Timely
Here’s what we mean:
In the midst of an everchanging world, we stand firmly and boldly on the unchanging truth of the God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever! That truth is found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. As a church, we are rooted in historic Christian orthodoxy, gladly confessing what the global church has believed for two-thousand years. When the world around us assaults the lordship of Christ, we contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints, which is the timeless gospel revealed in the bible.
In light of that timeless gospel, we want our ministry to be timely. We aim to apply God’s unchanging truth to the current challenges and cultural issues of our day in a way that’s accessible to every Christian. The Lord hasn’t called us to fight the battles of previous centuries, but to engage in the battles of the time and place in which we live. We work to help all believers, and the next generation, form a robust Christian worldview that shows how all of Christ is relevant for all of life. So as a church, we want to show how the timeless truths of scripture are timely and applicable for our present moment and the reality of our daily lives.
In other words, we want to live out the third verse of Jude’s letter: “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints”! The Christian faith doesn’t change. It was once for all delivered to God’s people! It’s Timeless!
And at the same time, it needs to be contended for. Each generation has to face the current threats against the gospel…and the old, old story of the gospel is relevant for every age! It’s Timely!
We want to be like the sons of Issachar, “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (1 Chronicles 12:32). They understood the times they were living in (timely) and knew how God’s people should respond (timeless)!
Committed: A New Podcast
Several of you have said that you want to hear more about these commitments. And others have said that they’d like me to do another podcast (last year, our “Preparing to Plant” podcast spent 9 episodes going through 2 Timothy, you can listen HERE). So I figured, why not kill two birds with one stone!
Very soon you’ll see a new podcast called “Committed” where we’ll go through the 7 Clover Hill Commitments of our church. Each episode will have a discussion guide, so you can use this is a resource for growth groups, bible studies, etc. Once it launches you’ll be able to find it here on this blog (just go to the “Podcasts” tab at the top), on our YouTube channel, or on most podcast platforms. If you’re already subscribed to “Preparing to Plant”, it should be on the same podcast (I’m just re-purposing it for the new content).
So stay tuned! A new episode will come out every other week, and the first one will drop soon!
May the Lord bless you and keep you this week!
“…contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints…” (Jude vs. 3)
Resources:
5 Things You Should Know about Creeds - Ligonier (Article)
In pursuit of timeless truth, our church holds to the historic creeds of the universal church: the Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, and the Definition of Chalcedon.
“Most Christians have heard of things like the Nicene Creed or the Apostles’ Creed, but many Christians also have a number of misconceptions about creeds. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the nature, history, and purpose of creeds. Here are five things you should know about creeds.”
How Relevant is Too Relevant? - Tim Challies (Article)
This is an oldie but a goodie, where Tim Challies talks about the blessing and pitfalls of being “relevant” (we would use the word “timely”).
“In order to connect with people around us we need to have some common ground and burying our heads in the sand will not allow us to be relevant. However, when we compromise our beliefs in order to attempt relevance, we go too far. There is never an excuse for sin. Never. While we should make great efforts to reach people with the gospel message, we must never do so at the sake of our beliefs.”
4 Things Pro-life Christians Must Do in a Post-Roe World - Scott Klusendorf (Article/Video)
This past Sunday was Sanctity of Life Sunday, and we took up a special offering for the Pregnancy Resource Center who is doing such an amazing job of caring for mothers and children in our community.
If you'd like to give specifically to the PRC, you can send a check and write "PRC" in the memo line, or give online (there's a tab to give specifically to this ministry).
“If we do those four things in a post-Roe world, I think pro-life Christians are well-situated to make a real difference.”
Dear Pastor . . . Don’t Undervalue the Sacraments - Crossway (Article)
In his communion meditation this past Sunday, Kevin Fowler referenced this excellent article on the sacraments.
“So let us not undervalue the sacraments. They are far more profound than we dare realize. They reinforce the good news that Jesus Christ presented in the written word. They present to us Christ and lead us to Christ, the one who has created and redeemed us. So may our churches receive these gospel gifts with faith and gratitude and therefore draw closer to our crucified and risen Lord. May we look on him through these visible, tangible words of the gospel—to the end of seeing him more clearly and embracing him more firmly. All the while, may we see ourselves more clearly and come to understand with humble confidence who we are in him.”