Jesus Christ taught that “new wine must be put into fresh wineskins” (Luke 5:38) and the early church demonstrated how to respond to those who consider the good news of Christ to be strange (Acts 17:20ff) and the need to “become all things to all men, so that (we) may by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22-23). We are instructed to “be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15).

Our dream is to be so faithful to God’s timeless message that we could never be rightly accused of adding to it or subtracting from it or watering it down and at the same time so innovative in our methods and vocabulary and presentation that we would clearly translate God’s timeless message for the people of our times—making it clearly understood by a generation largely unfamiliar with the Christ of the Scriptures.

Therefore, the people of CBC will seek to be culturally relevant and innovative in the following ways:

• We will ask God to provide open doors for sharing the gospel (Colossians 4:3) remembering that apart from the intervention of God, all the innovation we can muster will never accomplish anything significant (John 15:5).
• We will study the Scriptures like a “workman who does not need to be ashamed” so that we will be sure to “accurately handle the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) for the people of our time and culture.
• We will “set apart Christ as Lord” so our lives will be a display of “hope” (1 Peter 3:15), providing opportunities to share the reason for that hope.
• We will “become all things to all men” (1 Corinthians 9:23)-not in sinful ways, but utilizing our freedom to develop forms which communicate well our timeless message to the people of our times. We will not assume that old traditions are better just because they’re old.
• We will seek opportunities to participate in the “conversation” of our culture believing that the Word of God provides the only worldview with true hope for the world.
• We will regularly evaluate and be willing to change our methods, forms, facilities and church culture if we believe they are hindering our ability to reach people.
• We will explore ways to utilize modern means such as the internet, television, radio and print in order to more effectively share the good news of Christ.

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