Sustainable Traditions is a conversation and an invitation to embrace a deeply rooted, whole-life Christian discipleship. We seek to live into the reality of the ‘New Creation’ and ‘the renewal and reconciliation of all things’ which is the goal of the Gospel of Jesus. We exist to call the Church at large towards an embodied, community-centric, missional expression of GOD’s love and presence in our neighborhoods and the world.
We are rooted in the understanding that the end of the Biblical narrative is resurrection and renewal. And while we believe in a time of judgement and reckoning when GOD’s wrath against injustice and evil will be made fully manifest, we believe that our core motivation as a people must spring out of a hope for ‘the Age to Come’ – a time when all of us who long to “be home” with our Creator will be fully reunited in fellowship to GOD and one another. We believe that one day the heavenly realm is coming down to earth and so we pray for GOD’s will to “be done on earth as it is in heaven”. And we seek to be vessels overtaken by this prayer in practical, relational expressions of GOD’s shalom.
Core Affirmations:
- We believe in being “faithful in the small things”. Which means – everything we do matters and nothing on this earth is insignificant.
- We believe in the goodness of our bodies and of GOD’s Creation – and that we must be cleansed of Gnostic and Platonic thinking that diminishes the value of the material world.
- We believe we need a new vision for a simple life that delights in all that GOD has made – and a life that rejects the lie that our primary identity is as consumers.
- We believe in the bodily resurrection and the New Earth as described in Scripture.
- We believe in the centrality of the uncreated, incarnated and resurrected Jesus for our life and faith and hope for the future.
- We believe in the triune nature of GOD: Father, Son, Holy Spirit – and that this reality is for us a call to community and shared life.
- We believe in the abundance inherent in practicing hospitality.
- We believe in the hidden presence of Jesus among the poor and those in need.
- We believe in the ancient and original vocation of humanity explained in Genesis – to cultivate and care for the land and to cause GOD’s Creation to flourish.
- We believe in sanctification – that we are all in process and that the Holy Spirit is at work in us and among us to teach and perfect us in love.
- We believe in forgiveness – the need to be reconciled with GOD, one another and GOD’s creation – through the blood covenant of Jesus – our sacrificial Lamb.
- We believe in not just “right belief” (orthodoxy) but “right action” (orthopraxy) – and that they must be re-integrated.
- We believe in prayer and the supernatural presence of GOD and His willingness to act on behalf of those who cry out to Him in dependence.
- We believe in the new wineskins for the new wine.
- We believe in the Scriptures as the written oracles and inspiration from the Living GOD.
- We believe in being present as a faithful witness to GOD’s redeeming love in our communities.
- We believe in the missional, apostolic, prophetic nature of the Church.
- We believe we’ve just begun – and are always learning.
Our Mission:
To call the Church at-large to a renewed theological imagination and fresh embodiment of radical devotion to JESUS and His kingdom in the context of whole-life discipleship. We seek to cultivate and encourage ‘communities of practice’ that will embody the Christian hope for the Renewal and Reconciliation of All Things.
Our Vision:
To cultivate the understanding and practice of whole-life Christian faith through:
- Educating and Informing: through the use of media (our online website/blogazine, social media, a future print publication, future video series, and other media storytelling).
- Networking and Connecting: people through the web (our online community, online social networks) and in person (future regional gatherings/clusters, future nationwide network).
- Facilitating and Propagating: the vision with ‘working’ conferences, church and neighborhood focused initiatives (encouraging simple living, sustainable agriculture, missional living, creation care, caring for the poor…).
- Planting and Cultivating: intentional Christian communities/’villages of GOD’ of shared-life, mission and discipleship beginning in the Virginia area with the creation of a ‘holy laboratory’ rooted in the rural Bedford/Lynchburg area.
