Values
Worship
by responding to God’s everyday presence
Discovery exists for worship. We believe humans are created to worship their Creator and so we are on mission to help people worship. We worship Creator God in the person of Jesus Christ and by the power of God’s Spirit. We believe the best orientation for any human being is an orientation around worship of God. We think the worst orientation is around self which leads to death. We have discovered that anyone can worship and that worship frees us from self: self-absorption, self-righteousness, etc. Worship frees us from self and opens us to the grandeur and mystery of God. We worship by responding to God’s everyday presence. Worship IS the value of Discovery, and the other values listed are how worship is fleshed out or how we form a posture of worship with our lives.
EMBRACING TRUTH
as the pathway to freedom
Everyone has an opinion on the way life should be lived, but God, the author and sustainer of life is the final authority on how best to live. Jesus said that we can know the truth and truth will set us free. Truth is not an agreed upon set of propositional statements; truth is a person - Jesus Christ. Knowing Christ is what sets us free. Jesus is The Truth. The Bible is not The Truth; instead, it is the clearest revelation of The Truth. The Truth (Jesus) is fully and completely revealed in Scripture. We believe that Scripture is exactly what it claims about itself: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” 2 Tim 3:16. By embracing The Truth, we submit our lives to the teaching of scripture as best as we understand it. The way of Jesus does not keep us buttoned down and uptight, but releases us to live the most fully alive, free way to be human.
GROWING
by stepping out of our comfort zone
A follower of Christ is a lifelong learner, open to the work of the Spirit and the next steps God has for him or her. Following Christ, then, is as much about the journey as it is about the destination. God grows us in many ways: ongoing connection with God and His people, major life transitions, intentional retreat, through serving others, and through calling us out of our comfort zones. We grow through a posture of openness to God’s work, submitting to God’s authority and seeking the next step in our journey. In the life of our church, this value is fleshed out by calling people to serve, and always take a next step in their faith walk. Often it can mean stepping into an unknown or an environment where we are no longer in control. A tangible example is a mission trip where our trip members are no longer in control of their environment and must trust God to lead in an unfamiliar situation. We believe the biggest obstacle to growth is comfort and control. Our human trajectory is toward comfort and control, but God often disrupts and calls us to an unfamiliar journey. Growing, then is a posture of courage and faith.
CONNECTING
with each other because together is better
The church is a community of radical acceptance and uncommon love where all people can be real and welcomed. Connecting is pursuing honorable, authentic and loving relationships, and relating to people with acceptance and hospitality. Life will throw every human a curve ball or series of curve balls. Life will pull the rug out from under us and we’ll often feel like we are free falling or struggling. Philip Yancey is a Christian author who specializes in addressing the great question, “Where is God when it hurts?” When people ask him how to best prepare for pain in their life, he encourages them to find a church and connect deeply to people in it and then when the storm hits, you’ll have people to walk alongside you. This is what connecting looks like at Discovery. That everybody who calls Discovery home would seek out people to walk alongside together. Acts, which is the history of the early church records that followers of Jesus devoted themselves to teaching, breaking bread together, fellowship, and prayer. The author of Hebrews encouraged us to “not forsake gathering together.” The consistent testimony of the Bible is that life together is better than life alone.
SHARING
our time, talents and treasures
Scripture teaches us that the two competitors to God for the allegiance of the human heart are self and money. We live in a unique culture that highly encourages “more” and “the next new thing.” Our culture also bears upon our time, with many good endeavors seeking to saturate our time. Finally, scripture teaches us that every human being has inherent dignity and value and one of the ways we see value in people is in the sharing of gifts and talents in the service of others. Sharing of our resources is the tangible way to respond to the grace and love of God. We generously share our finances, time, skills and gifts, to serve God’s Kingdom primarily through Discovery’s ministries locally and around the world. We believe that financial generosity frees the heart from the grip of greed. We believe serving is an act of worship and a reflection of our God who first serves us. We believe that every human being has inherent worth and one way we see their worth is how they contribute uniquely to God’s kingdom. We unashamedly encourage people to share time, talent, and treasure for God’s Kingdom.
MOVING TOWARD
our local and global neighbors
The church carries the message of God’s grace and redemption through Jesus to the world. We reflect God’s concern for irreligious, under-resourced, oppressed, and supposed self-sufficient people. We sacrifice our preferences for the sake of lost and broken people outside of our church. We pray for our literal immediate neighbors, as well as local and global neighbors in need. We ask God to show us where he is at work and to use us in sharing His message of redemption locally and globally. We believe that God calls us to relationships of reciprocity, so for example, when we go on overseas mission trips, we go to learn and receive as much as to serve and help. Father Gregory Boyle invites people to the margins not to teach, but to learn from. We find great value in a posture of learning and mutuality with those we serve. Discovery also has an active posture of service to our city and state front lines care givers. We work closely with our local Human Services, Police Department, Non Profits and Schools to serve under resourced people in partnership, not isolation.