What We Believe
and
How We Live
A
Statement of the Christian Community
at Elmendorf in Minnesota
2007
We
believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth, and
in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived
by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, descended
into hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead,
ascending into heaven where he sits on the right hand of
God the Father, and from whence he shall come to judge the
living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy undivided church,
the community of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
God and Man
We believe God made us, with the earth, the heavens, and
all living things, perfect. But we lost our perfection
through disobeying him. Now, unless we believe in his Son,
Jesus, whom he sent to teach us and redeem us through his
death on the cross—unless we follow him, and join ourselves
to his body of believers on earth—we are useless to God,
and he will cast us into the lake of fire (the hell).
The Kingdom of God
Through repentance and forsaking our sins, through faith,
through the Spirit of God falling on us and giving us new
life with Jesus who rose from the dead, we may enter the
narrow door into his Kingdom. We may become heirs with him
of eternal life, and receive the promise of reigning with
him—after the restoration of all things—in new heavens and
a new earth where righteousness dwells.
We recognise the Kingdom of God (the Heavenly Kingdom) in
its first stages of peace, justice, and mercy already
established on earth. Wherever men and women that believe
in Jesus and follow him, old people, young people, and
little children live in peace and equality one with
another—wherever they give themselves for others as Jesus
gave himself for them—his Kingdom comes. But we believe it
will come in unspeakably greater power and glory when Jesus
himself will come again. We give ourselves and all we have
to the proclamation of the good news of his Kingdom, and
expect to live, work, and worship with Jesus in its
heavenly love and light forever.
We love our captain, our hero, Jesus for overcoming Satan
and giving us eternal life. We want to fight with him,
following him in every move, letting him fill us with his
Spirit so we may overcome. We stand with all that take a
stand and fight for Jesus and his Kingdom on earth (our
battle not being one of flesh and blood, but of the
Spirit).
Baptism
We declare our surrender to Jesus and his Kingdom through
verbal testimony, through water baptism, and through
persevering in our walk with him, day after day, until this
life is over.
How baptism is administered (with what mode), or by whom,
is not important to us. We accept baptism on confession of
faith as a valid baptism, providing the convert was truly
repentant, believed in Jesus, and made his vows at baptism
with a sincere heart.
Baptism, we believe, involves immediate responsibility and
membership in the local church doing the baptising. That
responsibility and membership remain as long as the member
remains in that locality. If, for any legitimate reason, he
must relocate, we must release him and allow him to become
part of another local church. All baptised members of the
Lord’s body, we believe, must belong to and function in
visible church communities.
We believe water baptism should occur promptly after it is
requested—leaving only enough time for the church to
approve the candidates and to make sure they understand
what being a Christian and a church member involves.
We baptise no one that does not stand in total agreement
with our congregation—ready to partake in our communion (in
bread and wine) and willing to give himself to the brothers
and sisters in our life together.
Communion
If we have fellowship with Jesus we have fellowship one
with another. We celebrate that in our communion with bread
and wine (to be held as often as the Spirit directs,
throughout the year). This leads us into community of
goods—sharing our natural things just like we share what we
believe and hope for.
We cannot celebrate communion unless we stand in spiritual
and material unity one with another—unless all those
partaking have proven with their words and lives that they
belong to Christ and to everyone else that takes part in
it. Communion in bread and wine is a celebration of
community in Christ—the sign of his Kingdom. If we partake
in it unworthily, in disunity, or with the unconverted, we
eat and drink judgement to ourselves.
Teaching
We trust Jesus as our perfect example and honour him as our
King. Everything Jesus and his apostles taught or did, we
also want to teach and do. Everything they rejected, we
reject.
The teaching of Jesus and his apostles (contained in the
New Testament) is our final word of action. Wherever it can
be pointed out to us that we have disregarded it, or
twisted the words of the New Testament to suit our way of
life, we repent. We commit ourselves to changing whatever
is necessary, whatever it may cost, to obey and follow
Christ our king.
Salvation
We want to continue, all our lives, in a spirit of
repentance—praising God for saving us from sin and bringing
us into the Kingdom of his Son, while recognising our
humanity (with its weakness and shortcoming) and our
responsibility for it. We believe it is possible to live
above sin, to stand perfect before God through the work of
Christ, but we also believe we can fall, and that we must
watch and pray continually to remain safe in him.
We believe Jesus is the light of the world, enlightening
all men that come into the world. We believe his Spirit
speaks to all men in all places, calling them to him (even
though they may not know or recognise him). But only those
that answer his call will be saved. Only the ones that seek
will find him.
Apostles and evangelists, sent out by the church, need to
help seekers find their way. But we cannot make people seek
God. That is the Spirit’s work.
We believe all children, since Adam and Eve disobeyed God
and fell into sin, are born with a sinful nature. We
believe that children born to unbelieving parents may carry
an even greater burden of spiritual uncleanness. But we
believe God begins to hold them responsible for this, only
after they personally commit sin (after they reach years of
understanding and deliberately go against God and their
conscience). God will not hold the innocent guilty, or
judge children for their parents’ sin.
The Holy Spirit
We recognise the Spirit of Jesus (the Holy Spirit) as God.
We expect all our members to bear the fruit of the Spirit,
and to seek his gifts. We recognise the gifts of healing,
of prophecy, of speaking in tongues, and others mentioned
in the New Testament as evidence of God’s work among us.
But we do not recognise anyone or anything as “spiritual”
that stands in contradiction to New Testament order.
We expect all believers to bear the same fruit of the
Spirit, but we expect the Spirit will give them different
gifts—according to their needs, and the needs of the local
church to which they belong.
Leadership
We believe the Spirit calls men into leadership and various
positions of service in the church. This call, we believe,
will be recognised by the Spirit-led body of believers, and
handled accordingly. If a person among us has a particular
gift we need to take note of it and help him use it. In
this way the Lord may build his church.
We believe the Spirit calls certain men to lead the church.
We respect them and honour their work. Every leader is
directly accountable to Jesus. Never-the-less we believe
every leader is also accountable to the church of Jesus
(the local church), and to other leaders, just like all the
rest of the members are accountable one to another. For
this reason we do not have one man making decisions on his
own that affect the whole church. Neither do we have one
man doing all the teaching or administration. We believe in
a plurality of elders.
Work
As a community we seek to divide our work evenly among all
members. Not everyone is apt for the same jobs, but
everyone needs to contribute in his or her own way. Every
able person needs to work with his own hands to provide for
himself and for his own. Families take responsibility for
their children, and for the elderly, physically
handicapped, or otherwise disabled among them.
In our work and responsibilities given to us, we submit
ourselves completely to the decision of the brotherhood.
Celibacy and Marriage
We recognise the ministry of single brothers and sisters
among us and honour them. If they choose to remain single
to serve the Lord (or if they lead a celibate life for any
other reason, such as in the case of having been widowed,
separated, or divorced) we commit ourselves to supporting
and caring for them as long as they live. We thank God for
them.
Nevertheless we believe that God wants most people to marry
and have families. We openly encourage the married state
and commit ourselves to doing what we can to lead our young
people into it. We encourage them to find suitable partners
with the advice of their parents and the church
leadership—while assuming full responsibility for the
choice they make and promising to stick with it as long as
they both shall live.
We do not permit our members to initiate divorce, or to get
remarried as long as a divorced partner remains alive.
If divorced (or divorced and remarried) people wish to join
us, we ask them to live a celibate life among us. If they
have children to raise, we will help them do it in as far
as we are able. Any exceptions that may apply to this rule
will be decided upon by the whole church, in light of the
facts, and under the direction of the Spirit of Jesus.
Depending on the situation, divorced and remarried couples
visiting our community may be accommodated as single
guests.
Courtship
We expect our young men and women to conduct their
courtship and make plans for marriage in a completely open
and honest way—not in secrecy, spending long periods
together alone, or in the dark, but among the rest of the
brothers and sisters in the light of day.
That couples planning to get married will need some time to
themselves, we understand, but they are not to indulge in
physical contact before marriage, and we encourage them to
keep their courtship brief (not much longer than a year, if
that). Once they are fully convinced the Lord wants them to
marry, and if they have prepared themselves spiritually to
take their place as husband and wife in the home, they
should proceed with their parents’ and the church’s
support.
We do not marry young men and women without their parents’
consent, unless their parents oppose the union on invalid
or unscriptural grounds. Then we go by the voice of this
local church. We believe marriage is of God, and to hinder
it for anything less than a clearly Scriptural reason, is
to oppose the work God wants to do among us.
Children
Parents take first responsibility in training their
children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Yet all
parents in our community recognise that in ourselves we are
incomplete. Our children must also become integrated into
the lives of others, the work, and social order of
something higher and greater than the natural family. For
this reason we entrust our children to caretakers,
teachers, and work supervisors outside our family circles.
We believe it our responsibility (not that of the state) to
operate our own school, choose our own curriculum, and have
brothers and sisters of our own congregation as teachers
and role models for our children. We expect all families in
our community to support and co-operate in the work of the
school.
In training our children at home, in school, and throughout
the community we use love and discipline—corporal
discipline (spanking) if necessary. He that spares the rod
hates his son. Parents stand in first place to administer
this discipline, but if necessary our children’s’ teachers
and work supervisors also stand responsible to give it.
We believe it important for families to spend time together
throughout the day, eating together, working together where
possible (fathers with sons and mothers with daughters),
and spending their evenings together at home. After eight
o’clock in the summer time, and even earlier in winter, we
expect all children to be at home with their parents, where
we expect them to gather around the Scriptures, singing,
and praying together before they go to bed.
We believe children are a gift from God and welcome every
one the Lord gives us. We do not believe in the use of
birth control—either through natural or artificial
means—unless in the case of serious or life-threatening
complications.
Meetings
We hold a worship meeting on the morning of the Lord’s Day.
We sing together, have at least two brothers share publicly
(an opening and a main message) and leave time in every
meeting for testimonies and prayer.
On the afternoon of the Lord’s Day and on Wednesday
evenings we have a Bible Study meeting. Every other evening
at 5:45 we expect the congregation to gather for Scripture
reading and common prayer. In these meetings we expect the
active participation of all that attend, in singing, in
leading in prayer, and in sharing what the Lord has laid
upon their hearts.
The leaders of our community meet every week day morning to
decide on schedules for the day and make practical
decisions. Once a week (on Saturday afternoons) all the
brothers meet to discuss and handle what affects the
community as a whole.
Only our men give instruction and share inspirational
thoughts in our worship meetings. We do not mind if our
sisters ask questions, share testimonies, pray, or make
confessions when we come together informally, but we do not
have them teach or exercise authority over the men.
Special Days
In commemoration of special events in the life our Lord
Jesus we celebrate his birth, his resurrection, his
ascension to heaven, the falling of the Holy Ghost at
Pentecost, and sometimes other days. But we do not go along
with pagan practices that have invaded and corrupted these
celebrations in western society (Christmas trees and Santa
Claus, Easter bunnies, etc.). Neither do we judge or
criticise those that do not keep these special days.
Like all other days in the year we expect our days of
celebration to be conducted in holiness, true joy and godly
fear.
Honesty
We insist on absolute honesty in business dealings and in
what we say or do. This includes honesty in paying taxes,
dues at international borders, and in obtaining government
permission for what we construct and operate in our
agricultural community.
We refuse to swear oaths, either in spoken or written
form—this including the pledge of allegiance.
We expect our members to be law abiding citizens in every
area where the laws of the land do not conflict with the
laws of God.
We honour and pray for our government and co-operate with
it wherever our conscience allows.
Visiting and Joining our Community
We welcome all seekers to visit our community—at least
once. Subsequent visits of an extended or indefinite
duration should be petitioned for and arranged. We do not
welcome teachers of doctrines opposed to what we teach, or
visitors that contradict and undermine what we believe.
Neither do we feel obligated to receive all that would come
to us for strictly intellectual or academic pursuits.
Before coming to live in our community, arrangements must
be made. Applications for membership will be reviewed, the
first time, after new residents have lived among us for
eight months. Members will be received after everyone in
our community feels comfortable with their life and
testimony.
On becoming part of our community, new members submit all
their possessions (except household and personal items) to
the church. The church may keep or dispose of them. Goods
cannot be reclaimed on leaving, or at a later date.
Leaving the Community and Discipline
If a brother or sister, or an entire family, wishes to
leave our community we expect them to bring the matter
before the brotherhood. If the brotherhood recognises their
reason for leaving as from Lord, we cannot oppose it, and
set them free to do so.
We insist on the totally voluntary nature of the Church of
Jesus Christ, and we do not automatically discipline or
separate ourselves from those that leave.
Nevertheless, we take our commitment one to another
seriously. After making this commitment we do not see it as
of the Lord to leave one another for trivial reasons,
simple matters of preference, or because we lack the energy
and dedication to work through whatever issues may arise.
If members leave our community to become part of a
situation we cannot fully approve of, or recommend, we stop
short of blessing their departure. Their conduct will
determine how much contact we maintain with them, and how
we feel about having them return to visit us.
If a member leaves in rebellion or sin, breaking his
covenant to Jesus and this local church, we consider him
“as a heathen man or publican” and refrain from socialising
with him until he repents.
Church discipline, we believe, is only for the unrepentant.
Even while we hold a person in discipline (not eating or
socialising freely with him) we have an obligation to
admonish him in the Spirit of Jesus. If we keep on loving
him and treating him kindly but firmly, he may come back to
Jesus and his church. That is the only reason for
discipline, and as soon as its purpose has been
accomplished we remove it completely.
We do not believe in using church discipline as a
punishment, or as “penance” for those that want to do what
is right.
We believe church discipline may only be applied to
individuals, only as specific cases arise to make it
necessary. We do not recognize or support any “group
discipline” applied to entire congregations or groups of
congregations in church divisions.
Unity
Every local church, we believe, stands directly responsible
to Jesus. We do not see a Scriptural precedent for any
higher level of church authority than that of the local
church. We believe, however, that local churches in which
the Spirit of Jesus moves, will not think of themselves as
“independent” or as an “only church.” Every city in Jesus’
Kingdom, like every household in those cities, and every
individual in those households, needs each other.
We celebrate our unity with other local churches by
fellowshipping together, by seeking counsel one from
another, and by supporting them in their work and outreach
wherever possible.
The higher the level of our doctrinal and practical unity,
the more intimate and meaningful our fellowship one with
another becomes.
Associations
Even though we respect those that profess Christ while
living differently than we do—even though we accept and
honor what they teach and do—we refuse to enter into close
fellowship with everyone that justifies Christians going to
war, that refuses to separate himself from the world in
economics, dress, and lifestyle, and that opposes or
disparages the way of the Kingdom of Heaven.
We cannot associate with those that live in open
disobedience to the Scriptures.
On the other hand, we cannot help but associate with all
that follow Jesus and seek him with an honest heart—whether
they have much in common with us ethnically, culturally,
and socially, or whether they don’t.
It is Jesus that divides us from all that refuse to follow
him (our relatives, friends, and former associates
included) and unites us with all that do.
The Sick
We believe God holds our bodies and souls in his hands, and
that if we turn sick he alone can heal us. If any among us
is sick, we encourage him to call for the elders of the
church, so they may anoint him with oil and pray for him to
be healed.
Even though we credit God alone for our healing we use
medical services where necessary. We recognise that God
works through medical and surgical means, many times, to
heal the sick.
We believe sickness and death came as a result of Adam’s
disobedience and fall, but to get sick or die does not mean
we are personally guilty of sin, today. Neither does it
mean our faith is too weak to get healed. It is not God’s
will that believers should always get healed, or that they
should always be kept from diseases, accidents, and death.
God may call on us to glorify him through our sickness or
permanent disability. If that is what he asks of us, we
will accept it patiently and with grace.
We do not recognise the “gift of healing” (miraculous
powers to cure) of those that refuse to walk in the way of
Jesus and his Kingdom community. Rather, if such people
perform miracles, we suspect their power comes from the
evil one.
We reject all forms of witchcraft, non-scientific cures,
and any type of alternative medicine that defies natural
law.
Peace
Following Christ we seek to return good for evil, to love
our enemies, and use no resistance against those that
mistreat us or use us despitefully.
This means we do not go to law with others to settle our
disputes. We would rather let others take advantage of us
than defend ourselves.
We cannot serve in the armed forces, or identify ourselves
with the god of this world by putting on military uniforms,
taking military training, or swearing the oath necessary to
enlist in the army.
In the case of war and military conscription we would be
happy to serve our country in any way other than joining
the armed forces.
Equality
We believe that in the local church we should bear one
another’s burdens and share all things—our joys as well as
our sorrows. We believe what one has we all have, what one
suffers we all suffer. This we express in our life
together, and in our community of goods.
More than this we cannot, as citizens of the Kingdom of
Heaven—sons and daughters of the King—consider living in
any other way. We believe God’s Kingdom, like all human
society in the beginning, has always been fully communal.
We recognise money, possessions, and all capitalist and
ungodly socialist or communist systems, as a result of
man’s fall, his wickedness, and greed. We have to do with
the world’s economics only insofar as is absolutely
necessary for the time being.
We express our equality among ourselves in our willingness
to wash one another’s feet, like Jesus washed his disciples
feet. This may take the form of literally, spontaneously,
washing one another’s feet, but even much more, we want to
express with our lives the attitude of Jesus behind it.
That, if we follow Jesus, we may exemplify every day, all
day long.
Whether it is with the kiss of peace, the right hand of
fellowship, or with a friendly embrace, we expect our
members to honour one another and greet one another
regularly with appropriate gestures of love and fellowship.
Separation
In our houses, our entertainment, our dress, our music, our
speech—in every area of life—we want to identify with Jesus
and his Kingdom to which we belong.
We have rejected the god of this world, and refuse to
identify with him. What is highly valued among men is
detestable in God’s sight. Therefore we want to live
modestly in simple houses, all of whose features serve a
practical purpose. We want to use simple furniture, eat
healthy, simple meals (as much as possible what we can
raise ourselves), and dress ourselves modestly.
We reject the fashions of the world in hair styles,
impractical clothing, and whatever features of dress serve
for nothing but to draw attention to ourselves.
We do not use jewellery, and because of its pagan origin,
its impracticality, and its unscriptural use of gold, we
reject the use of the wedding ring.
We expect our women and girls to wear long hair and to keep
it covered (for the sake of modesty, as a sign of headship
order, and because of the angels) in public.
For the sake of modesty we do not have our sisters wearing
trousers. Rather we expect them, and the brothers of our
community to dress in a simple uniform way. To keep a
united testimony, and because of the great value of
identifying ourselves visibly one with another and with our
community, we expect all those that join us to conform
quickly to our way.
We expect everyone in our community to use whatever
electronic equipment we may own (computers, radios, sound
systems, and audio-visual equipment) in a responsible and
edifying way. Parents are responsible for how their
children make use of these things.
We do not believe our families and our community should
have free or unlimited access to the Internet.
We believe the use of public television to be more harmful
than profitable, and reject its use altogether.
Fire arms, if used among us, shall never be stored or
considered as weapons of self-defence. Only responsible
people shall use them where necessary.
Money
We believe ourselves responsible for all money that passes
through our hands. Everything we spend on ourselves that we
do not need, we rob from the person that needs it.
We believe we should give, collectively, of our money as
needs arise and the Lord provides. However, there are
countless ways our members may give of their time, their
resources, and their abilities to people both inside and
outside our community. We encourage all to give freely to
others as we have freely received.
We believe we should leave no debt outstanding except the
debt to love one another. Therefore we feel responsible to
pay all money we borrow on the date agreed, and to return
borrowed items as soon as we are done using them.
We do not find it inconsistent with what we believe to
accept government assistance in programs designed to help
the general populace. We do not believe, however, that we
should make use of collecting agencies in any circumstance,
or declare bankruptcy. All our members, whether newly
arrived or of long standing, need to pay what taxes, bills,
or the cost of goods and services they have incurred.
None of our members draws government benefits for
unemployment or old age pensions. Neither do we place our
elderly in homes for the aged. We do not believe it would
be right to shirk our duties one to another by depending on
outside help.
The holding of some insurance policies, where we live, is
mandatory. Other arrangements for help in case of fire,
accident or drought may be good stewardship of what the
Lord has entrusted into our care. But “cursed is the one
who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the Lord. . . . blessed is
the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out
his roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes,
its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of
drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
We believe the Lord allows us, his children, to suffer
hardship and poverty for our good. Jesus was poor. He
worked among the poor and pronounced on them his blessing.
But he cursed the rich, and said it was easier for a camel
to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to
enter the Kingdom of God.
We do not take material prosperity as a sign of God’s
blessing and approval, or material want as a sign of his
disfavour.
The Future
We believe all things will be restored, in heaven and on
earth, when Jesus comes again. That is, all things will be
like God intended them to be when he created the earth.
How all this will happen, or how end-time events will
unfold, is not altogether clear to us. The Bible does not
make it clear because there are things we are not to know
until they come to pass.
For this reason we discourage speculation about end-time
events, the restoration of Israel, the thousand-year reign,
and the “rapture” of the children of God. The “Israel of
God” (those who are Jews “not outwardly, according to the
flesh, but inwardly by the Spirit”) are God’s chosen people
of the New Covenant. Those that believe in and live for
Jesus Christ, those that will reign with him, are today’s
“children of Abraham, and many of those who say they are
Jews are in fact “of the synagogue of Satan.”
We believe the only way for a Jewish person to become an
heir of the promise, a child of God, or a citizen of his
Heavenly Kingdom is to repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
All Jews may be saved, but all that reject Jesus, reject
God, and forfeit their claims to the promises God made to
their ancestors.
We believe the Messiah’s Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom
involving this planet, the heavens, the universe and all
things in it, not just an earthly nation (the nation of
Israel) built with fighter planes, tanks, bombs, and guns.
We believe the Kingdom has already come, but that it will
come in unspeakably greater power and peace when all
creation is restored and Jesus appears among us to reign on
the earth.
Rather than speculate on worldly politics and passing
events of the age, we encourage our members to watch and
pray because we know not the day or the hour when the Lord
shall reappear.
We warn our members against a naïvely literal understanding
of prophetic Scripture—such as taking the picture of “the
bride, the Lamb’s wife” in Revelation 21, the “new
Jerusalem that came
down out of heaven from
God” to be a literal picture of heaven itself. All
Scripture, we believe, must be understood in the light of
all other Scriptures.
We believe we shall all stand before the judgement seat of
Christ. According to what we have done, we will live
forever with Christ in a fully restored creation, in new
heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells—or we
shall be cast with Satan into hell.
Note on this Statement
As a brotherhood at Elmendorf we commit ourselves to
reviewing this statement of what we believe and how we live
at least once a year. If any further light is given to us,
if more information becomes necessary on any subject, or if
we must change a position in the light of Scripture and the
Spirit’s leading, we will do so.
Our final word is the teaching of Jesus Christ and the
Apostles as given in the New Testament. Based on that we
also honour and accept as our own the statement written by
Peter Riedemann,
Rechenschaft unsrer Religion, Lehre, und
Glaubens,
at Marburg in Germany, in 1540-41, the
Fünf Artikel written
by Peter Walpot in Moravia in 1545-1547, and the
Brüderliche Vereinigung drawn
up at Schleitheim in Switzerland in 1527.
“We are not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power
of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first
for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a
righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is
by faith from first to last, just as it is written, ‘The
righteous will live by faith.’” (Romans 1:16-17).