Our Beliefs
1. At NRCC, we believe in paradox and humility
On the spiritual path, we just can’t get away from it…
- God is one; God is three.
- God is good; God allows evil.
- God is all-powerful; humans have free choice.
- God is merciful and forgiving; God is just.
- Jesus is fully human; Jesus visibly expresses the invisible God.
- Scripture is inspired by God; scripture is the words of humans.
This paradoxical nature of great and central spiritual truths demands of us a certain spiritual humility. We do well not to become rigid in our religious beliefs, but to posture ourselves with hearts constantly open to learn deeper and deeper dimensions of the transcendent realm; the heart of God.
2. At NRCC, we believe in Jesus
- We believe Jesus uniquely expressed Divinity, and through his life, death, and resurrection, opened a new way for us to experience communion with God.
- The life and message of Jesus increasingly re-integrates us with the loving heart of God.
- We hear in Jesus the singular command to love. We are to love God with all our hearts, and to love all of humanity as God does.
3. At NRCC, we believe in Spirit
- We believe God has given the Holy Spirit to indwell all who so desire.
- We believe God’s indwelling Spirit allows ordinary people to experience God in tangible and perceptible ways.
- There are often no simple answers to life’s complex issues, but by listening carefully to the Spirit within, we thread our ways forward with a growing sense of Divine wisdom, insight, and understanding.
- Being attentive and responsive to the Spirit within us, our journeys bring to us increasing degrees of redemption and wholeness. God within us is at work to free us from the baggage of our more base natures.
4. AT NRCC, we believe in certain spiritual practices
Through the millennia, God’s people have discerned certain practices that help us on the spiritual journey. As such, we intentionally pursue…
Spiritual Community:
- Our souls prosper in the environment of intimate spiritual friendships.
Tolerance:
- Our souls prosper when we exercise Jesus-like love and acceptance toward all people, all races, all religions. When we get things wrong ourselves, we are forgiven by our God. We can do nothing less for one another and for the world around us.
Listening and Obeying:
- Our souls prosper when we listen carefully for the inner Voice of God’s Spirit, and respond with fervent obedience.
The Classical Spiritual Disciplines:
- Our souls prosper when we engage in the ancient practices…
- The varied forms of prayer, fasting, spiritual reading and study, solitude and community, simplicity, service, confession, etc.
Meditation:
- In our busy and noisy world, our souls especially prosper when we quiet ourselves in the presence of God’s Spirit.
Liberty:
- Our souls prosper when our spiritual journey is less about following religious rules and more about the liberty of conscience afforded us as we listen to God’s Spirit and obey.
- Thus, at NRCC we have no list of approved behaviors to which one must conform to be "spiritual."
5. At NRCC, we believe in doubt and wonder
At NRCC we accept people into our community in full standing who have doubts and questions about even core doctrines of the faith. We see a hunger for God as the central qualification for belonging in our community, and we see doubt and wonder as healthy ways of growing on our spiritual journeys.
6. At NRCC, we believe that sin is not that big a deal
Many find that a scandalous statement: "sin’s just not that big a deal." But we say it all the time.
We follow up by saying that while it will deeply damage our lives, families, relationships, and futures, when held next to the mountain of grace and forgiveness God extends to us, sin is a mere pebble by comparison. To this, most Christians give mental assent.
However, when we begin to live out that belief by not being overly concerned about one another’s sin; when we say it’s not our job to straighten each other out, but to encourage one another to listen to the Holy Spirit and let God convict us of sin, and to fervently follow those convictions when they come… well, this causes a bit of discomfort.
At NRCC, we don’t define the spiritual journey as a battle with sin. We all sin; sometimes very badly! However, if we believe God has already forgiven us, that Jesus’ life and message of atonement has sin covered, it’s not a good use of our energy to focus on human weakness and failure. A better use of our spiritual energy is to help one another strengthen our connection to Spirit, allowing God to deal with our shortcomings and sins at divinely-appointed times. Occasionally, God may employ us to help one another deal with some dimension of sin in our lives, but often not. In either case, it is to us to listen to God’s Spirit, and obey what we hear.
The good news about this is that if you’re a really bad sinner, you’re welcome at NRCC. The bad news is that if you come here, you may find some really bad sinners we’re not working that hard to straighten out.