Who we are?
What does it mean to say we are fearlessly loving, fundamentally inclusive, boldly seeking...
Our identity statement has been describe by some as bit idealistic, and there is no question these words are spiritually strenuous and constantly challenge us in every aspect of life. Yet the path of discipleship begins when we choose to take up the cross.
These three ideals (Fearlessly Loving, Fundamentally Inclusive & Boldly Seeking) were drawn from the life of Jesus, and though there are many other characteristics that could be found in the life of Jesus, these were the reoccurring themes the Discernment Team kept finding as they asked the questions: Who is Jesus? Who are we? What does it mean to be the church in our present context?
Fearlessly Loving
To say we are fearlessly loving is to look at the sacrificial love of Jesus.
He spoke with frustration about those whose love is extended only when it is easy. Even the wicked, Jesus said, do that. Instead, Jesus called us to love those who are difficult to love, those who may not love us back, and to do so in tangible acts that require risk, sacrifice and vulnerability. His life is the model we are to emulate.
- First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a member church of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Within the rich history of the Disciples of Christ, we have strived to define ourselves by what we do and how we do it, instead of using empty words and statements that are often as flimsy and lasting as the paper on which they are written.
Fundamentally Inclusive
To say we are fundamentally inclusive is to reject the ideas often associated with Christian Fundamentalism which defines itself by who it excludes.
The Jesus we discover in both scripture and worship is one who invites all those who the religious moralists love to reject. The rejection and marginalization done by the church over the centuries has come, not from Jesus, but from its own fears. To love as Jesus loved is to know a love that casts out all fear and makes us capable of welcoming the stranger, the outcast, the sick, the rejection and the broken. Demonstrating this welcome creates a window through which all are able to glimpse the Kingdom of God.
- Our denomination describes itself as a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. We embody this idea at the table of welcome each Sunday morning, but only as a beginning place. The First Christian Church community continues to encourage all people to spread the table of welcome in their daily lives through tangible acts of hospitality, justice, generosity, hope and healing.
Boldy seeking
To say we are boldly seeking is to understand faith as a journey and not a destination.
We are a people who do not claim to have this faith thing figured out. Or to paraphrase one of our founders, we are faithful followers but not the only ones faithfully following. Through study and prayer, worship and service, listening and sharing, we are being formed as disciples. We do not rest in the grace of God, but stretch out from this loving foundation to growing in our understanding of who we are and whose we are. We ask tough question, engage and listen to science, converse with people of other traditions and faiths, and read our Bibles through the lens of modern day scholarship.
- We believe in the saving work of Jesus, but the word salvation is more than some ticket to the life-after. To speak of saving (Sozo in the original Greek of the New Testament) is to speak in terms of liberating the whole person. This is not some feel-good religious idea, but the ongoing work of Christ’s body (the church) in bringing healing and transformation to those the Bible describes as the least among us.
Testimonials
“FCC Naples is the first church I've attended that let's me be me, and actually enhances my relationship with God, without bashing the belief systems of other faiths.”
-Michael J., musician
Contact us
First Christian Church of Naples
1789 Mandarin Road
Naples, Florida 34102
phone: 239-262-3924
E-mail: welcome@fccnaples.org
