My Commitment

This statement is read by members of my congregation every year at our covenant celebration in which we gather to celebrate the Lord’s New Covenant with us, and our attempt to follow him faithfully by living life in common, one to another.  The theology herein conveys my basic ecclesial commitments and beliefs.

Statement of Commitment

We come together as single followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  In response to the promptings of His Spirit we are determined to seek first His kingdom, ordering our lives by its values and submitting to His lordship through this local expression of His body. By this statement we express our covenant with one another under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

It is our desire to live out life in listening response to His call. Where He calls us to love one another, we shall, learning from Him and from each other the are of loving.  Where He calls us to servanthood, we shall humbly offer ourselves.  Where He urges us to become holy as He is holy, we will abandon the false pursuits of the world and will receive thankfully the correction of our sister and brother. We affirm that our confession of Christ means that we will live out our discipleship in union with others, that together we are His body, that the church is God’s tool for accomplishing His objective in the world. Together, we wish to be a light to the world showing His love

Because of this and my desire to grow up into true servanthood, recognizing that light is discovered only when I choose not to claim life for myself, I give my life away, no longer living for me but living for you.  I abandon my destiny to the Lord. Knowing His Spirit works through His people, I share with you the control of that destiny. Short of a violation of my conscience, as it is purified through the church, I will defer to the voice of the church and its gifts as it speaks to my life.  My commitment to you is that I will not seek to leave without a call from God that has been confirmed by this body.  I trust that you will honor me as part of your family and not take my offering lightly. 

I accept you as my sisters and brothers and promise to cherish the gift of our relationship. I will strive for our unity by praying for you, helping you, serving you, and forgiving you. I ask you to care for me, to encourage me to love and good works, to call me on when you see me falling away, and to stand beside me in my struggle.

Now, then, we are one body.  We are born of one Spirit and seek strength from one source.  We shall be together for as long as God allows. We rejoice in our unity, a gift of our Father.  And we go forth, together, in His service.