My Statement Of Faith!
Preamble
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I salute you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I am humbled to come before you today to present this Statement of Faith. I beg to say that it is good to know me and know what I hold as my rule of faith. I come from a humble background, one that did not permit my parents to send me to Secondary school. I trained and practiced as a carpenter until 1986 when I registered for the GCE Ordinary level and obtained my O level certificate in 1987.
I received baptism in 1986 and in 1988 the Lord called me to serve in His vineyard as a pastor. If today I am presenting this Statement of Faith to you, I can only say this journey in faith is the Lord’s doing and I have marvelled and cherished it on each lap I take on this journey of faith.
A statement of faith presupposes an inner conviction to what I hold as the rule of faith which guides my spiritual life, my Christian commitment, my conviction regarding my vertical intimacy with God and how I relate it daily horizontally with the faith community, my family, my church and the world.
In this faith stance I understand spiritual realities by faith and not by sight. For as Hebrews states faith is the assurance of things we do not see and the certainty that it will come to pass (11:1)
The Holy Bible
I begin with the Bible because it is here that my convictions begin. From the beginning of time God has never left himself without a witness. I believe that he has revealed himself throughout the ages to people of different regions of the world in many ways (Rom. 1:19-20). Though acquainted with these many revelations, I have chosen the Bible as my rule of faith because in it I have been illuminated to the ultimate Revelation – Jesus Christ who is my Lord and Saviour.
I believe that the Bible is not a book sent down straight from heaven, but that through centuries God revealed himself first to some individuals and communities who through the ages made public their inspirations which was interpreted with theological intentionality for a religious community with a common heritage (see Brueggemann, 2003). This religious and spiritual intentionality has become my conviction within the framework of the Reformed Tradition to which I adhere; but at the same time I believe that Scriptures are subject to fresh ways of interpretation since all theologians are in a way like the blind men of Indostan whose individual descriptions of an elephant was limited to that part of the elephant’s body they touched (see Kato, 1975).
Biblical Hermeneutics
As an African Christian I hold that it is my cultural background that grounds my hermeneutical approach to scripture; thus my social location and cultural background shapes my interpretation of Scriptures given that the relevance of Scripture depends on that contextual approach towards reading and interpretation.
I believe in both the indigenizing and pilgrim principles and that both are engaged in a perennial but necessary tension. With the indigenizing principle God in Christ takes us as we are with our relations and disrelations. With the pilgrim principle, even though God takes us as we are, he does not intend to leave us as we are. That is why we are being transformed and renewed every day of our Christian pilgrimage life (Walls, 2002). As pilgrims we are reminded that we have no permanent home here on earth; but hoping for that which is to come.
The Godhead
My faith is rooted in the conviction that God the Father Almighty created the world and everything thereof (Ps.24). I believe that to rescue humanity from sin, he sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for my sake so he is my Redeemer (Jn. 3:16); and that Jesus fulfills his continual presence through the Holy Spirit who sanctifies (Jn. 16:7&8)! I believe that these three persons of the Trinity are not separate entities, but three persons in one God.
The Church
I own that Jesus Christ who is our LORD and SAVIOUR is the only Head of the Church (PCC Constitution, Art. 4: iii). I affirm the mission of the Church as contained in the PCC Constitution (Art. 7); “…which is to proclaim the Good News of God through Jesus Christ, in word and action.” A proclamation that encapsulates Jesus’ fourfold mission of “…preaching the word, teaching, healing and liberating the people of God from sin”; structural and institutional bondage (Luke 4:18-19)
I believe that the Church is a community of faithfuls who recognize the ‘fallenness’ of human nature and who believe that Jesus Christ became the ultimate sacrifice so that all who call on his name are saved.
I believe that although Christians are saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the individual members constantly stand in need of grace because since conversion is a process of turning towards Christ, we have a lot of turnings to do because in human weakness freedom from sin is not a single aorist event as we are constantly intentionally or accidently prone to sin.
The Church has to be a pacesetter on exemplary leadership that has to be modeled after the leadership taught and practiced by the Head of the Church himself: servant-hood leadership. In this servant-hood leadership, leaders are not be-alls and end alls; rather they are there to identify gifts and talents, harness them for the welfare of the collective good. The Church has to provide a leadership that seeks to delegate powers; open to positive criticism, but firm and authoritative in the face of insubordination.
The Church has a responsibility of social, political and economic transformation. The Church remains the bulwark of society, the voice of the voiceless and the mouth piece of the oppressed. As such, the Church cannot remain silent in the face of blatant injustice, oppression, bad governance, corruption, marginalization, sidelined minorities, perpetuation of inequalities of any kind, exploitation and the violation of human rights.
To be a servant leader one must have a vision for it is written that where there is no vision the people perish (Prov.29:18). What vision then do I have for the Church and society as a whole?
My vision of the Church
I have a vision of a Church where members both clergy and laity are so spirit filled that true fellowship is not a utopia.
I have a vision for a Church where evangelization is central and where making disciples means going out to find them wherever they may be; a Church that is at the forefront of ecumenism and fully engaged in major contemporary affairs around the world.
I have a vision of a Church where the unity of believers is emphasized upon. I have a vision of a Church where competence is the driving force behind personnel management and placements. I have a vision of a Church where balanced representation would not mean the promotion of mediocrity.
I have a vision of a Church where transparency and accountability stretches beyond mere financial accountability; but rather where transparency involves even personnel placement that shuns tribalism and nepotism.
I have a vision of a Church where the laity will be relaxed and comfortable when interacting with the clergy.
I have the vision of a Church where the quest for knowledge will be advanced and where both the laity and clergy are encouraged to train in various academic disciplines that would enhance competent in-house staff for our higher institutions of learning.
I have a vision of a Church where love stands above law without compromising discipline and where justice though a sine qua non is tempered by mercy.
I have a vision of a Church where the practice of leadership is a cordial entente between the leaders and those being led. A Church where the concern for workers reduce grumbling to its barest minimum and where retired workers of the Church will continue to see the Church as the place that enabled them rather than the place where they were humiliated and frustrated.
I have a vision of a Church where ministerial formation insists that context determines interpretation. A Church that instills in the clergy the threefold mission of the minister: mission to God, mission to the people and mission to the Church; and that mission to God is non-achievable in the absence of mission to the people.
I have the vision of a Church where love reigns supreme because it is only through love that the kinship of humanity is enhanced.
Finally, I have a vision that the realization of these dreams for the Church is a great leap towards the realization of a world order where peace, justice and equity will reign supreme. May He alone who is able to transform us enable us to realize these dreams for the welfare of his people.
(I have tried my best to ensure this vision whenever it was possible. To God be the Glory)!
Humbly submitted; Rev. Babila George Fochang.(November 2014).